Shadow Kiss
by Malika16
Summary: At the Academy, Rose Hathaway is assigned to Christian Ozera for a field experience. Everything is going great until someone new joins the Academy. Rose wonders why this girl is familiar...and suspicious. My version of Shadow Kiss with an extra character.
1. Thoughts and Suspicions

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone. What's up? Ok, so this is my version of Shadow Kiss. I hope all of you have read it before reading this because if you didn't you will be as confused as ever. just a little heads up, the story line is the same except i added one character who already has a relationship with one of the main characters. I changed up the time line a bit so it mite be days a head or even days behind, who knows who cares. i hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I (sadly) do not own VA even though i wish i did. i only own the characters i make up.**

* * *

Shadow Kiss

It had been four days into the field experience. I was sitting in the cafeteria with Christian, waiting for Eddie and Lissa. I was still a bit mad about the fact that I wasn't assigned to Lissa, but I knew Eddie would take care of her and Christian wasn't so bad once you got to know him a little better. I tapped my fingers on the table while looking for any sign of Lissa. I snapped my head around when a hand touched mine. It was Christian. I looked into his crystal blue eyes questioningly.

"You're annoying me with your finger tapping."

I rolled my eyes and pulled my hand away. "I'm just anxious to see Lissa. I wanna know how she's doing."

"You don't think I wanna see her too?" I shrugged and leaned back in my seat. "There's Eddie." Christian said.

I turned around to see Eddie, but no Lissa. He sat next to me. "Where's Lissa?" I asked.

He shrugged and looked at me. "Guardian Petrov took her for the rest of the day. I think she said something about Headmistress Kirova wanting to talk to her about…something. None of my business, really."

Christian and I exchanged glances. I looked back at Eddie. "She's gonna be out the whole day and they didn't tell you why?"

He nodded. "Pretty much. But like I said, it's none of my business."

"It should be your business. You're supposed to be guarding her. You should know." He only shrugged in response.

I bit my lip, just a little worried about her. _Why would Kirova need to talk to her for a whole day? Did she get in trouble? Lissa doesn't get in trouble._ I finally decided that in a time like this, now would be a great time to drop in on her. I tried to slip in her, but I couldn't get into her head. I furrowed my eyebrows and tried again, but failed the attempt.

"Rose?" I looked at Christian.

"What?"

"Are you ok? You seem…confused."

"Uh, yeah. Of course I'm fine." Eddie and Christian gave me weird looks. I ignored them and thought back to Lissa.

* * *

After a few more minutes of getting weird looks, Christian and I said our goodbyes to Eddie and left the cafeteria. "Well?"

I looked at Christian who walked to my right. "Well what?"

"What happened in the cafeteria?"

I sighed. "Lissa happened."

I saw him slightly tense. Christian cared for Lissa as much as I did. Then again, they were dating and have been for a while now, so why shouldn't he care for her?

"What about Lissa?"

"I was trying to get in her head to see what Kirova wanted, but I couldn't get in."

"Maybe it's because she's blocking you out, little dhampir." Christian and I stopped to turn around. I crossed my arms.

"Adrian Ivashkov. What brings you to stalk me?"

Adrian smiled. "Now Rose, please tell me, why would I stalk you?"

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Did you just call me Rose?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

Adrian rarely calls me Rose. He usually only did it when he was serious and that was another rare thing for him to do. He shrugged.

"Did I? Hm, I guess I didn't notice. I was too busy admiring you."

"I think I'm gonna throw up." Christian muttered.

"Don't flatter yourself. Now what were you saying about Lissa?"

"She's been learning to block you out of her head. She's just starting to get the hang of it, so it might still be weak. And blocking out your bond mate takes a lot of spirit, so it's only for a short amount of time. You'll be able to get back in her head tomorrow."

Just as I was about to drown him in questions, I saw something at the corner of my eye. I turned around to see a "Strigoi" coming at me. That's when I also saw Mason. Ever since Mason was murdered I've been seeing him, or at least I've been seeing his ghost. He'd distracted me before, but I wasn't gonna let that happen this time. He'd gotten me in trouble and I wasn't going to freeze now. I didn't know who the guardian was, but I'd seen him around campus before. He came at me quickly, but I dodged him. I stuck out my foot, but he jumped over. He grabbed my arm and pulled it back, thankfully not hard enough to break, though a real Strigoi wouldn't hesitate in breaking my arm. I turned around and hit him on the side of his head. He let go of me and stumbled. I took that as a chance to "kill" him, which I did well on. The guardian smiled. Then Stan came out from behind a group of trees. When Stan had once attacked me, I was distracted by Mason to fight back. I got a pretty good lecture that put me on edge.

"Well done, Miss Hathaway. Some advice: always keep your guard up. Don't let talking get you in trouble."

I rolled my eyes. Stan and the other guardian left. "I am so sick and tired of that guy." I mumbled. I turned back to Adrian. "Look, we have to go. I'll talk to you later."

"But of course. You have guardian duties to take care of." And with that, Adrian turned around and left.

Christian and I continued walking. "So, Lissa wants to block you out. No surprise there. I'd do the same." Christian said, followed by a smirk.

I elbowed him. "Shut up. Maybe she just doesn't want me to know why Kirova dragged her into her office."

"I like what I said better. You are pretty nosy." I only ignored him and continued walking to his next class.

* * *

The day had been long and tiring. I had three fights with "Strigoi" today and I did well on all of them. As soon as we got to Christian's dorm he went straight into the bathroom to get changed, leaving the room to me for awhile. I slipped off my clothes and put on a black T-shirt and pajama pants. I sat on the floor and got under the covers of my "bed". I put my arms under my head and stared up at the ceiling. I heard the bathroom door open and I saw Christian climb into bed.

"Goodnight Rose." He said as he turned off the light.

"Goodnight."

After a few minutes of being in darkness and silence I fell asleep…only to wake up in a dream, or Adrian's to be more specific. I looked down at myself. I was wearing the T-shirt I want to sleep in and some jeans. The _chotki _that Lissa gave me was on my wrist. The scenery wasn't much except for his bedroom in guest housing. Usually it was someplace nice like a garden or the beach. I shook my head.

"What's wrong, little dhampir?" I turned around and faced Adrian. He was wearing a gray shirt and light jeans. His hair was in its usually stylishly-messy style.

"Did you run out of ideas?" I asked, motioning around the room.

He shrugged. "Just thought of a…really casual place. I'll save a more beautiful scenery for a more romantic time."

"If this isn't one of your flirting dreams then what is it?"

"Just wanted to tell you that Lissa made a new friend and she's going to introduce her to you tomorrow."

I looked at Adrian as if her were crazy. I crossed my arms. "Lissa made a new friend? Who is it?"

He shrugged, probably a new motion for him. "I don't know, but I hear she's pretty. Don't worry, little dhampir. You can't be replaced." Before I said anything the room began to fade. "I'll leave you undisturbed the rest of the night, little dhampir. Goodnight." And with that I woke up. I sat up and looked around. Christian was sound asleep. I pushed my hair out of my face before going back to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Note: **So, what do you guys think so far? Are you anxious to learn who Lissa's new friend is? if this wasn't my story, i'd be anxious. Do you believe Adrian when he said that Rose can't be replaced? So many questions, only few can be asked. Review and tell me what you think. And if you have any ideas i'd be glad to add them if i can.


	2. The New Girl

**Author's Note: **Hey VA fans. What's up? Ok, so i'll b posting these chapters kind of fast cuz i have them written, but that's only if school doesn't get in the way.

**riku: **No, it isn't Sydney, but good guess. You'll meet the new character in this chapter.

**Disclaimer: I own nothing that has to do with VA except the character i make up.**

* * *

I hadn't seen Lissa most of the next day either. She has most of her classes with Christian, so her not being there really got me worked up. Christian and I walked towards the cafeteria with my stomach growling. I ignored it as best I could. I avoided all conversation with Christian and focused only on Lissa. Then a wave of excitement hit me. It came from Lissa. I sighed in relief and the weirdest thing happened. I stopped walking, only to watch two others. One of them was Dimitri Belikov. Wonderful, gorgeous Dimitri. Ever since I got back to the Academy Dimitri had been my personal trainer. I practically fell in love with him ever since we met. I had deep feelings for him and I know he returned those feelings. But there were two important things getting in the way: our seven year age difference and that we'd both be Lissa's guardians after graduation.

When I saw who he was walking with I felt the slightest pang of jealousy. Tasha Ozera, Christian's aunt. She was beautiful. Long black hair and crystal blue eyes. She had a giant scar on the left side of her face, but she looked no different. The last time she was here-the first time I met her-she was head over heels for Dimitri. She wanted him as her guardian and I told Dimitri that no mater our feelings for each other, he could go with her if he wanted. But he denied it and I felt happy about that. Seeing them walking across campus brought back my jealousy. Tasha was a cool person and easy to be around, but there were times I hated her. Times like these.

"Christian?" I asked, never keeping my gaze off of the two.

"What?"

"Did you know that your aunt was here?" I turned to look at him to see his expression as confused as mine. He hadn't a clue that she was going to be here. We both watched the two. They seemed to be deep in conversation and I didn't want to know what they were talking about. I grabbed Christian's arm. "Come on." I pulled Christian towards the cafeteria, not looking back at Tasha and Dimitri.

The two of us sat at our usual table in silence. I poked around my food, waiting for Eddie and Lissa. _Rose. _I smiled. Lissa. I turned around to see Eddie with Lissa right next to him. And someone else was right behind them. She had straight black hair that fell just past her shoulders. Her skin was pale, like all Moroi along with the slim body. She was wearing sunglasses, so I couldn't see her eye color which usually gave away the identity of a Moroi. Lissa stopped next to me.

"Rose, Christian, I'd like to introduce you to Maralaina."

The girl took off her sunglasses to show her light blue eyes. They looked vaguely familiar. "Please, call me Laina. I personally think Maralaina is too proper." Her eyes fell on Christian and she smiled.

Then Christian stood up. "Rose, I'd like to leave please."

I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I just…I don't feel well. I need to head back to my room. Please?"

"I need to talk to Lissa. Eddie, can you go with Christian?"

Eddie stared at me. "But you have to guard him."

I rolled my eyes. "Don't run into any 'Strigoi' and you won't get in trouble. Now go on." Eddie gave me one last look before leaving with Christian. I stood up and faced Lissa and Laina. "We need to talk. Laina, if you would excuse us."

Lissa elbowed me. "Rose!"

Laina put her hands up. "No worries. I know my way around now. I'll catch up with you later, Lissa." With that, she left. I grabbed Lissa and dragged her away.

* * *

I found Dimitri, just like I wanted. I kept my hold on Lissa and dragged her. "Dimitri!"

He turned around and looked at me. "Yes?"

I stopped in front of him and let go of Lissa. "Hey, I just…I wanted to know when Tasha got here and why."

Lissa looked between us. "Tasha was here?"

I looked at her. "I thought you knew." She shook her head.

"Rose, it's really none of your concern. She was just here for a small visit, but she's gone now."

I clenched my jaw and tried to keep cool. "So, about Laina. Is she here for a visit or is she attending St. Vladimir's?"

"Attending."

I nodded. "Awesome."

Dimitri tilted his head. "Rose, where's Christian?"

I laughed nervously and grabbed Lissa's arm. "Well it was nice talking, Dimitri. Lissa and I have to be somewhere. Let's go, Liss." I quickly walked away with Lissa trying to catch up to me.

Lissa laughed when we began to slow down. "Rose, you're so…hm, what's the word?"

"Brilliant? Skilled? Sneaky?"

"None of the above."

"You're hurting my feelings." We laughed.

"Oh, I almost forgot. We can go to Victor's trial."

I stopped dead in my tracks. "What? How? When?"

"Two days. We're allowed to go."

Victor Dashkov was going to be on trial for kidnapping Lissa and torturing her until she used spirit to heal him. He also made his daughter, Natalie, also a good friend of mine, go Strigoi. And he nearly killed Christian and I while trying to rescue Lissa. One last thing, during that process he put a charm on me and Dimitri to distract us.

I had also heard about Victor's trial through Alberta, all though it was an accident. I had just about gone crazy and it was in front of Dimitri. I had drowned Dimitri in questions as to why I couldn't go, but the answers were never direct. Hearing what Lissa just told me lifted my spirit.

I smiled. I wanted to see Victor get what he deserves. I linked my arm through Lissa's. "Well Liss, Victor will finally get what he deserves, and we'll be watching." We laughed as we walked towards the Moroi dorms.

* * *

**Author's Note: **This chapter is short, i know. i was gonna have it longer but i cut it becaue i want to know who you guys think Laina is. You might get it and you might not. Who knows? Guess and tell me. plze, i wanna know wat u guys think. Thank you! :D


	3. One Big Secret

**Author's Note: **Ok, here's chapter 3. Like i said last chapter, you'll find out who Laina really is. You'll be really shocked. And please don't be those people who go on saying that it makes no sense or crap like that. It _is_ fanfiction. I can do whatever i want. lol. enjoy

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything that has to do with VA. all characters belong to Richelle Mead. Except for Maralaina/Laina. She's mine.**

* * *

We walked upstairs to Christian's room. Eddie was standing outside his door. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

He stared at me. "Nothing. Christian said he wanted some time alone and that you should spend more time with Lissa while you got it."

I narrowed my eyes and stepped forward. "Eddie, you can't lie to me. Step away from the door."

"Rose, I really-"

"Step away, Eddie!"

He slowly backed away from the door. I put my hand on the door and opened it, only to immediately wish I hadn't. Laina was there. Christian was holding her against the wall by her arm. The two of them looked at me and I nearly stumbled. Then a wave of hurt washed over me. I turned around to see Lissa standing next to me. Hurt and sadness showed on her eyes. Christian let go of Laina. I was hit again by another wave of emotions. I looked back at Lissa to see tears streaming down her face. Before I said anything she took off running.

"Lissa!" Christian tried to run after her, but I held him back.

"You, stay her. We need to talk. Eddie, go after Lissa. Try to calm her down." Eddie ran after Lissa and I pushed Christian back into his room. I looked at Laina and glared at her. She shrugged and walked out.

She stopped at the door and turned around. "I'll talk to you later, Chris." She looked at me and smiled, revealing her fangs. "Bye Rose." She left with a wave.

I turned to Christian. "Sit and talk."

He sat down. "There's so much to say, but I don't know where to start."

"You can start by telling my why she was in here. What, are you guys some…childhood friends? Are you cheating on Lissa?"

"I'd never do that to her."

"Then explain why I find you in your room with a girl that's only been here a day."

He sighed. "Rose, please just…answer me this. Who does she look like?"

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question. And be honest."

I sighed. "Fine. She looks like you. She has the eyes and the hair. She looks like…" When I looked at Christian it hit me. "She looks like an Ozera. Oh my God, she's your sister."

"To be more precise, she's my twin sister."

I sat down on the floor. Too shocked to really say anything. I looked at him and managed to get words out. "That explains why Tasha was here and why you wanted to leave when Lissa came with her. So…what's her story?"

"Like me, everyone who knows about our parents expect her to turn Strigoi. Tasha watched over us until…until Laina went missing at eight."

"Wait, missing? What do you mean? Tasha found her."

"Here's where it gets confusing. She ran away down to the South Carolina to escape the madness."

"She ran away at eight years old? All the way to South Carolina? Where we you guys living before? Here in Montana?" I knew I was being a pain with all of these questions. Even if I was, Christian showed no sign of me being annoying.

He shook his head. "Just in Wyoming, not too far. When Laina went missing we moved and I ended up here."

"So you wouldn't go after her. And then Tasha found her nine years later and brought her here."

He nodded. "She was safe, though. She was living with some distant cousins. Brett's parents."

I shook my head in disbelief. "Who would've thought that you'd have a twin? Does that mean I have to deal with two of you?" Christian smiled.

"Actually, it does." I turned towards the door to see Alberta and Dimitri.

I stood up. "Why didn't you tell me Laina's an Ozera?" I pointed my question at Dimitri.

"You didn't ask."

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, so why are you here? To tell me I should stay out of people's business or I need to listen more and understand?"

"What are you even talking about?"

I shrugged. "I hoped you would tell me."

"Rose, we trust you." Alberta said.

I stared at her and crossed my arms. "Since when did you trust me?"

"I've always trusted you, you just make it hard because of your behavior. After what happened in Spokane I understand that you're capable of taking responsibility."

I looked away. I didn't want to think about Spokane. Mason died there trying to protect me from Strigoi. Because of his feelings for me it got him killed and I felt terrible that I slaughtered the two Strigoi. I still blamed myself for his death.

"Ok, so what does this have to do with Laina?"

"For the field experience you'll be guarding the Ozera twins."

I looked back and forth between Alberta and Dimitri. "Wait, hold on. Rewind. Did you say I'm guarding both? Why both?"

"Miss Hathaway, no more questions. We have made our decision that you are guarding the Ozera twins and that is final. When you see Maralaina let her know." Alberta walked out.

Dimitri and I met each other's eyes. "I trust you with this."

"I never said you didn't."

Dimitri knew what I was thinking about. Mason. He knew I felt hurt when Alberta mentioned Spokane. "I'm sorry."

I nodded. "Go on, comrade. You have better things to do than feel sorry for me." He looked like he was about to protest, but only nodded and walked out.

I turned to look at Christian. He was smiling. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

He nodded. "I sure am."

* * *

Before setting off to find Lissa and Laina (whichever one we ran into first), Christian said he felt weak so we had to get him a feeder. We waited in line which felt like forever. "Chris." We turned around to see Laina.

Christian groaned. "What?"

She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. "You don't sound happy to see me." She smiled.

"I wonder why that is." He said, sarcastically.

"Well change your mind about that. You should be happy after I fixed things between you and your girlfriend."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I talked to Lissa and explained everything. I'm sure whenever she sees you she'll run into your arms and be all 'Oh, I miss you, Christian. I'm so sorry.' Some girl you have there." She said sarcastically. There was one trait I noticed so far between the twins. Sarcasm.

"What do I owe you?" He asked.

Laina laughed, revealing her fangs. "I can't be nice, Chris? I would think you'd treat me differently after being out of your life for ten years."

"I thought it was nine?" I asked.

Laina shook her head. "I ran away at eight. I'm eighteen now."

"Anyway, that was your decision. That was what you wanted." Christian said.

Laina rolled her eyes. "It was for a reason you wouldn't understand."

"What reason would that be?"

She shook her head. "Let's save that topic for later and you can just give me a thank you hug or kiss so we can get on with our lives." Christian pulled her into a hug and even kissed her on her cheek. "There's the brotherly love I've been looking for." Laina said as she pulled away.

"Did you finally move on, Christian?" The three of us turned around to see Jesse and Ralf. I glared at them.

"No, I'm still with Lissa. Don't even think about saying that I'm cheating on her, because I'm not."

Jesse smirked. "Of course you aren't. You're just giving some girl a kiss. Though I don't blame you; she's cute. Are you new?"

Christian stepped forward, but Laina held him back. "I just got here yesterday. I'm Laina."

"Well Laina, what are you doing with losers like these?"

I was just about ready to punch him, but I controlled myself. "Losers, huh? I didn't know this Academy had cliques. Where's the popular clique?"

Jesse spread out his arms. "You're looking at him."

Laina smiled. "Just you? Well, it must be my lucky day. You wouldn't mind taking me out to get some food, would you?"

"Of course not."

Christian grabbed Laina and turned her around. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"You're not the boss of me, Chris. I know what I'm doing and how to take care of myself. I'll see you guys later." She kissed Christian on the cheek and waved goodbye to me before going with Jesse and Ralf.

"She has no idea what she's getting herself into." I said.

* * *

We finally got a feeder and it was no surprise that it was Alice. She was in her sixties and nice, but somewhat crazy.

She smiled at me. "Rose, always great to see you. Have you been living well?" Even though I had no idea what she meant, I nodded. Alice was someone who said crazy things that ended up making sense in the end. "That's wonderful. I'm glad."

"Aren't we all?" Christian's usual sarcastic comment.

Alice hadn't noticed. "You should live well. Tragedies that happen means you haven't lived well."

"What do you mean, Alice?"

"Tragedies are sad and give a sign."

I raised an eyebrow. "Can I eat now?" Christian asked.

He sunk his fangs into her neck. Her eyes glazed over and I could tell that the endorphins were running through her veins. I looked away, not wanting to be reminded of past events. Finally, we left.

"I wanna find your sister."

"Why? Ever since you found out about her being my sister you've had an interest in her."

"I wanna know how she's handling Jesse. They said they were getting something to eat."

"Shouldn't the cafeteria be closed?"

I shrugged, but continued walking. When we got to the cafeteria, Jesse and Laina were just walking out. I grabbed Christian and walked towards them. Laina looked at me and smiled, revealing her fangs to me. Moroi rarely show their fangs, even in the Academy. I had no idea why she did it.

"Hey Rose, Chris. What brings you here after we just talked not too long ago?"

Jesse looked at Laina. "Why do you call him Chris?"

Laina narrowed her eyes at him. "Because I want to. Now stay out of my business and run along. If you start spreading rumors about me you will regret it." Laina's voice was threatening yet calm. It was scary. There was a strange look in both of their eyes. Laina's were dangerous and Jesse's were…blank. He ran off to where Ralf and Dean-his guardian for the field experience, were standing nearby. Laina smiled at me, this time hiding her fans. She seemed paler. "Shall we walk and talk?" The three of us began walking.

"So Laina, now that you're at the Academy-"

"You're my guardian for the field experience, I know. I ran into Guardian Belikov and he told me."

"You talked to Dimitri?"

She nodded. "Well someone had to watch out for me and Lissa while she gave me my little tour. Anyway, this whole field experience thing is cool and a, but if I were really out there in the real world I'd be fighting Strigoi and protecting those I love."

She laid her head on Christian's shoulder. She sounded like Tasha when she talked about Moroi fighting Strigoi.

"What are you specialized in?" I asked.

"Water."

I smiled. "Makes perfect sense for you two to be twins. Fire and water. What other differences are there?"

They shrugged. "I don't know."

They said at the same time. I smiled and saw movement in the corner of my eye. I turned around just in time to see a guardian dressed as a Strigoi. I didn't recognize him, but did it matter? He grabbed for me, but I moved to the side. He swept his leg under me and I fell backwards, my back and head hitting the ground. I ignored the pain as best I could and got back up. I kicked the "Strigoi" in the side and he stumbled. That was enough for me. I kicked him one last time and he fell. I pulled out my "stake" and "killed" him. He smiled and gave me a nod.

"Well done, Rose." I turned around and saw Dimitri.

I smiled. "Thanks." The guardian I fought stood up. "I'm sorry if I was-"

He held up his hand. "No worries. I've had better, but…really, I'm fine."

I looked at Dimitri. He smiled at me. I pointed to Christian and Laina. "I have to get going. I have twins to look after."

He nodded. "Of course. You're busy, I understand." He walked away with the other guardian. I was going to call after him, but decided not to.

I turned around with a smile on my face, but it disappeared when I saw Mason. He still had that sorrow look on his face. He pointed behind me then dropped his hand.

"Rose?" I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked at Laina. I looked back to where Mason was standing, but he wasn't there.

I shook my head. "Let's go."

The three of us walked side by side. Christian and Laina were talking nonstop, most likely catching up on a few things. I stayed out of it as much as my talkative self would allow me until I joined in a while later. "So Laina, about you and Jesse…"

She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't going to last anyway. I should tell you, Rose, that boys like him are just like Barbie dolls. You play with it for like ten minutes and you throw it away. Jesse is one of those Barbies to me."

"And I should tell _you_ that he'll begin to start spreading rumors about you."

"I don't think I have anything to worry about." She sang.

"Little dhampir!" I turned around to see Adrian running our way.

"Hey."

He nodded towards Christian and Laina. "Hey you guys. So Laina, how are you liking the Academy so far?" Laina shrugged. "I agree, I hate it too." Adrian said. Laina laughed.

"You two met already?" I asked.

They nodded. Adrian was staring at Laina, but it wasn't in the way he stared at me. He seemed both confused and curious. I shook it off, for now. "So Adrian, is it true you and Lissa are spirit users?" Laina asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. We've been practicing together and learning new things."

"And Rose, you and Lissa are bonded?" I looked at her and nodded. "That's awesome. I wanna watch you guys practice some day, but not today. I still wanna catch up on some things with Christian."

Adrian looked at me questioningly. "Christian and Laina are twins. Shocking, right? And I'm guarding both of them."

He put a hand on my shoulder. "Good luck, Rose. I have to meet up with Lissa. I'll talk to you guys later." And he ran off.

* * *

The three of us walked to Christian's room. When we got in his room, Laina went straight for the bed. "I call the bed tonight." She said.

"Uh, I don't think so. It's my bed."

"Come on, Chris. Let me have the bed. Be nice."

"I'm older than you."

She rolled her eyes and laughed. "By like three minutes. Big deal. Do you guys have anything fun to do around here?"

"Not really." I said, sitting next to her.

"That sucks. What do you guys do for a living besides go to class? Anyway, so Rose, is there something going on between you and Adrian?"

I looked at her in a sort of are-you-crazy look. Then again, she is Christian's twin. "What? No way. We're simply friends, if even that. I mean, I know about him liking me, but still."

"Have you thought about giving him a chance?"

"He's an alcoholic and he smokes."

"Still, he's really hot. I don't know what you don't see in him."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you interested in him?" I asked. I knew it was none of my business, but I wanted to know what Laina thought about him.

"Whoa, hold up. I'm not having my sister trying to date him. He's moving in on you and Lissa. I won't have him moving in on Laina."

"Oh my God, for the last time, Christian, he's not moving in on Lissa. How many more times must I say that?" I asked, obviously getting annoyed. Ever since Adrian and Lissa have been practicing spirit together, Christian assumed Adrian was hitting on Lissa. If there was anyone he was hitting on it was me and I'm tired of it.

"Until I'm convinced."

"Chris, I haven't been here long, but I can tell you this: you and Lissa are madly in love."

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Lai."

"Aw, you called me Lai. Haven't heard that nickname in a long time."

I looked at the clock. I hadn't known how caught up in talking we were in. It was near curfew. "We should get ready for bed." I said.

Laina stood up. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll try not to be long." She walked into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. Christian sighed and smiled.

"What's on your mind?" I asked.

He looked at me. "Laina. It's been ten years since I saw her. Even though she hasn't really matured…she's different. She's completely changed."

"We have to change and grow up someday. But just think about it, even after all of these years nothing's changed between the two of you, right?"

He smiled. "You're pretty smart when you want to be, Hathaway. Thanks."

I ignored the when-you-want-to-be and focused on the you're-pretty-smart. I shrugged. "I try."

After a few more minutes of silence with Christian, Laina finally came out of the shower. She was wearing a white robe that wrapped around her slim body. She held a towel in her hand that she was using to dry her black hair which was now damp.

Christian glared at her. "That's my robe." He said.

She furrowed her brows and shrugged. "So? It's mine now. I needed something and I don't think you want to see me naturally air dry."

He rolled his eyes. "Thanks for saving me the dreadful nightmares." He said sarcastically as he walked past her into the bathroom.

Laina sat on the bed and continued to dry her hair. I quickly slipped on a tank top and pajama pants. Laina walked over to Christian's closet and pulled out a red shirt. "Hm, this should work."

"I could've leant you something to sleep in." I said.

"Oh, I know. I just want to tick Christian off." I smiled.

We were gonna get along perfectly. While Christian was taking his shower, Laina and I got to know each other better. I learned that she ran away because she was afraid of Strigoi coming after her. The family she moved in with was Brett Ozera's parents. I learned about Brett through this girl, Jill Mastrano, who thought of me as a celebrity. Well, she thought of a lot of people as celebrities, such as Dimitri. Laina said that she loved living with them. She had many friends she left behind, both dhampir and Moroi. By the way she described them she was pretty much spoiled. She stays in contact, but at the Academy it's rare. Once she finished her story I told her a little bit about me. There wasn't much I wanted to tell her, except the fact I'm shadow kissed and about all of my "adventures". We had some laughs and moments when we were really interested in one another's story.

Finally Christian came out of the bathroom. He looked at Laina. "That's my shirt." He said through gritted teeth.

She looked him up and down. "I know. What's the problem? I don't see you needing it any time soon."

He rolled his eyes. "You guys can take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor."

I stood up. "You don't have to. I don't mind sleeping on the floor."

"Yes, I understand that, but just because Laina's my twin doesn't mean I want to share a bed with her. One of us will eventually end up on the floor."

"It'll most likely be you, Chris. I'm a kicker." Laina said with a devious smile.

I looked back and forth between the Ozera twins. I sighed. "Fine. I'll share."

"Thank you." He said.

Being my slightly immature self, I stuck out my tongue. Christian settled on the floor and Laina and I got on either side of the large bed. I turned off the light and there was silence. "Rose?" It was Laina.

"Yeah?"

"If Lissa and Adrian are practicing spirit tomorrow…can I watch? I think it's really cool."

I was caught off guard by the question, but when it functioned I smiled. "Yeah, of course."

"Thanks. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." I closed my eyes and fell asleep…only to wake up in Adrian's dream. I sighed. I found myself in his room gain, so thankfully it wasn't a romantic visit. "What is it now, Adrian?"

He came out of the bathroom. "What's wrong, little dhampir? I thought you liked my visits."

I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes. "Ok, what is it you wanna tell me?"

"It's about Laina."

I narrowed my eyes in confusion. "What about Laina?"

He shrugged. "I can't really say, but Lissa and I are going to practice some more. Maybe you should bring her by."

I smiled. "I was gonna bring her anyway. We just talked about it before we went to sleep."

He smiled. "I think she'd be really interested. Well, I don't want to keep you any longer. I just wanted to tell you that. It wasn't much."

_Rose, change of plans. We're going to Court tomorrow. _

I shook my head. It was Lissa. I looked at Adrian. "Uh…yeah. I need all the rest I can get for tomorrow. I just got a message from Lissa. She told me we're going to Court tomorrow."

He smiled. "Then I shall definitely leave you to sleep. Goodnight, little dhampir." The room faded, as did Adrian. I woke up to darkness. When my eyes adjusted, I looked around. Christian was asleep on the floor. He was lying on his back with his head turned to the right. I looked at Laina. She was in the same position, but her head was turned to the left. I smiled. Maybe protecting the Ozera twins wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

**Author's Note: **i hope you guys noticed that last sentence. a bit foreshadowing. Yay. So yes, Laina is an Ozera _and_ Christian's twin sister. I love how i made Laina. She's so much like Christian. If you guys don't think so help me out. I don't mind. throw me some ideas. Ok, plze review. i love reviews. they make me feel better. Ok, a little heads up: another big shocker in next chapter. Can anyone guess what it is?

Except for you Adrian. you already know. Adrian is one of my best friend's who's kind of been helping me out with this story. So she already knows the big shocker. So, don't ruin it for other's, Adri. Bye.


	4. Another Big Secret

**Author's Note: **chapter 4! YAY! my friend Adrian is so excited about this story. I inspired her to write one but she's having trouble so i'm trying to help her out. Anyway, i told you guys that there was going to be a big surprise in this chap and if any of u read comments for this story Bookluvrr got it correct. i was surprised even though i made it kind of obvious, but anyway. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.

**Disclaimer: I do not own VA, Richelle Mead does. I only own Maralaina/Laina**

* * *

"Laina, hurry up in there!"

I woke up to yelling and pounding. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. Christian was standing at the bathroom door.

"Can't you wait five more minutes?"

"No!"

"Well, learn!"

"What's taking you so long anyway?"

The door opened and Laina poked her head out. "I'm a girl. I have needs."

"What needs are those?"

"Showers and makeup." She slammed the door in his face.

"Where'd you get makeup?"

"Lissa."

Christian turned around and looked at me. "This isn't right."

"What isn't? The fact that your sister and girlfriend are hanging out of the fact that your sister is turning your bathroom into a beauty salon?"

"Both."

I smiled. I got out of bed and grabbed my clothes. "Turn around." I knew he was about to question me, but with the look I gave him he obeyed. I quickly slipped on my clothes: A gray top with a black sweater to go over, dark jeans (loose enough to fight in), and white sneakers. "Alright, you're good." I told Christian. He turned back around and sighed. He was just about to pound on the door again when it opened.

Laina walked out of the bathroom wearing a loose black top that hung off her shoulders, dark skinny jeans that had a silver chain hanging from the side, black stiletto boots and those long earrings that tickle your neck every time you move. Her straight hair was now wavy and she wore black eye shadow. The outfit screamed party but it also screamed get-in-my-way-and-I'll-hurt-you. "Are you going to club and didn't invite me?" I asked.

She laughed, revealing her fangs. "No, just thought I's make some new friends. I have to find some way to bring attention to myself."

I looked her up and down again. "Is black your favorite color?"

She looked down at herself and shrugged. "I just wear a lot of black. I don't know if it's really my favorite, but it's an awesome color."

Christian was still staring at Laina. He shook his head as if coming out of a trance. He looked unhappy. "You are _not_ going around the Academy looking like that."

Laina put her hand on her hip. She walked up to him. "I'm not the same little girl you once knew, Chris. I know we're going to Court and I'll change when I get there. Aunt Tasha bought me some clothes along with decent ones. Let me do this."

I saw something in Christian's eyes. I narrowed mine. Christian nodded. "Fine." Laina smiled and walked away from him. Christian walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

I bit my lip, remembering something but not sure if I should bring it up. "What's up, Rose?"

I looked up at Laina. "What do you mean?"

She smiled. "There's something you wanna tell me. I can tell by the way you look. So?"

I sighed, noticing there's no point in avoiding it. "What was up with Jesse? I saw how you looked at him when you guys were…out. Were you using compulsion on him?"

Laina laughed, but there was nothing friendly or humorous about it. It was more of an are-you-crazy kind of laugh. Before she said anything there was a knock on the door. Laina and I met each other's gaze before I moved to the door and opened it. It was Adrian. I moved to the side so he could walk in. His gaze landed on Laina and she looked away with a smiled playing her lips. "Are you going to a club?"

She looked at him and smiled. "I assure that if I was going to a club I'd take you and Rose. You two are obviously the party type." I smiled.

Christian came out of the bathroom. "Hey Ivashkov, eyes off my sister."

Adrian smiled. "Don't worry. I only have eyes for Rose over here."

"Eyes off my guardian."

I rolled my eyes and pointed at the door. "Can we go now?" They all nodded and we walked out.

* * *

"How's your spirit practice with Lissa?" Laina asked as we walked towards Lissa's room. She looked at Adrian, curiosity all over her face.

"We've been doing a lot of practice on her room. Using more power to see what we're capable of."

At the corner of my eye I saw Christian tense up. "That's pretty cool. Lissa told me that she's trying to dream walk."

"Yeah, she can't seem to get it."

"Must be hard."

Before Adrian said anything else there was an interruption. "Hey Laina." We all stopped and turned around. I tensed up at the sight of Jesse and Ralf. Dean was walking a few meters away, far enough to stay out of conversation but close enough to keep an eye on Jesse. The two stopped in front of us. "I like the outfit." He said, eyes traveling around her body.

She snapped her fingers in his face. "Hey, my eyes are up here. What do you want?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. I hear you're going to court. I won't get to see you."

Christian stepped forward. "She's not interested." He said.

"Stay out of this, Ozera."

Now Laina stepped forward. "Back off, Jesse."

He looked between Christian and Laina and something showed in his eyes. He figured out the relationship. "Well, look here, Ralf. We have another Strigoi wannabe in our midst. Laina's an Ozera. How can you handle them, Rose?"

I lunged for him, but Laina held me back. She moved up to Jesse and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "Hey, what are you-"

"Shut it!" She turned to Ralf. "Scram!" Ralf's eyes widened and he backed away, falling in the process. Laina pushed Jesse up against the wall.

"Laina stop!" Christian yelled.

"Stay out of this, Chris. I have to do this."

I was panicking. I didn't really know what to do. I turned to Christian. "Go to Lissa's room. We'll catch up."

"No, she's my sister. I'm going to-"

"Don't argue with me, Christian. Just go to Lissa's room and stay there." He hesitated but ran down the hall to Lissa. I turned to Adrian. "This is where you come in. I need you to compel her."

"Rose, I-"

"Now!"

He walked over to Laina and put his hand on her shoulder. Still holding on to Jesse, she looked at Adrian. "Laina, you need to stop this. Please." Adrian's voice was soothing and calm, but also demanding.

"Don't even try, Adrian. You know that won't work on me." My eyes widened. How did she know she was being compelled? She turned back to Jesse, her voice going bitter and full of hatred. "Now listen, Zeklos. You have no idea who you're messing with. My parents becoming Strigoi have _nothing_ to do with me _or_ Christian. Understand?"

Jesse, scared out of his mind, nodded. "What's going on?" We turned around to see Dean, Jesse's field experience guardian. Of course he'd show up after the fact that Laina's scared him to death. Laina narrowed her eyes at Dean.

"I think you need to leave. Don't worry, I'll make sure Jesse finds you. While you're leaving I want you to forget what you saw. Goodbye." I stumbled back.

She was using compulsion and it was strong. I knew she was using compulsion, ever since yesterday. She used it on Jesse once. Today she used it on Christian, Jesse, Ralf and Dean. I understood why her compulsion was so strong. Laina was a spirit user. With this much compulsion, she should be tired and going crazy. But she was controlling it perfectly as if she'd been doing it her whole life, but I understood now. She had practically been doing this her whole life. Ever since she went down to South Carolina. She must've found another spirit user and learned from them. It was the only explanation. Her control over spirit was incredible, especially by how much she was doing. The strength of her compulsion was so strong I felt like _I _was the one being compelled. I've never seen such strong control over one. Even Lissa's wasn't this strong. It was…scary.

Dean quickly left. She turned back to Jesse, narrowing her eyes. "Laina, stop!" I grabbed Laina.

She looked at me and I flew back and hit the wall. I've had worse encounters but it still hurt. "Laina!" Adrian called.

He flew back as well and hit the wall. I looked at Laina. She had let go of Jesse who was long gone. She leaned against the opposite wall with tears streaming down her face. She was looking back and forth between me and Adrian. Her gaze fell on me. "Don't tell Chris." She whispered before running off.

* * *

"You knew, didn't you?" I asked Adrian.

We were still in the hall and hadn't left ever since the scene that happened with Laina. Adrian was sitting down and I was pacing. Thankfully, no one heard what had happened and no one had walked by. The blow I took to my head from hitting the wall wasn't really helping me think, but after everything that's been going on I _finally _pieced the puzzle together. Laina was indeed a spirit user and Adrian knew.

"She didn't want me to tell anyone."

"So that's why you wanted her to come watch you and Lissa practice spirit and why you were talking to me about Laina last night. You saw her aura. It was gold, wasn't it? Like all spirit users."

"You're leaving a gap in the story, little dhampir. That time when the four of us were walking and I was staring at Laina," I nodded. "that's when I found out. Her aura _was_ gold and it was amazing."

I shook my head, my pacing began to pick up. One hand on my head the other on my hip. I stopped and looked at Adrian. "We have to find her."

"What do you mean you have to find her?" I turned around to see Christian, Lissa and Eddie. "Rose, where's Laina?" Christian asked.

"I don't know. She ran away crying and…we have to find her. Eddie, take Lissa and Christian. Adrian, come with me." We quickly separated.

Eddie, Lissa and Christian went to check around the dorms and Adrian and I would cover the rest of the Academy's grounds. We walked around everywhere, trying to avoid the guardians. Adrian stopped. "What? What is it?"

"I know where she is." He grabbed my arm and pulled me along.

When we stopped it was in front of the Academy's church. We ran into the church to find it empty. Candles lit the church, making it shine in gold. Statues were staring down at us. I shook my head, ignoring the intricate details of the church and focusing on Laina. I ran upstairs to the attic also known as Christian and Lissa's little love nest. I slowly opened the door. "Laina?" I heard crying and sniffing. I made my way around to the back of the attic. I walked around a stack of boxes-even after Dimitri and I cleaned this place-to see Laina sitting on the floor. Her knees were pulled up to her chest and her head was resting on them. "Laina?"

She looked up at me. Her makeup was running, nearly making her look dead and it wasn't helping that she looked paler than her usual pale skin tone. "I'm so sorry, Rose. I'm sorry." She whispered.

I sat in front of her. "Why didn't you tell me? That you're a spirit user, I mean."

"I know what you mean. But Rose, just think about it if you were me. Would you really tell people? Everyone is still trying to figure out spirit. I don't think the Academy needs another spirit user to worry about. We're not as rare as you think. I met a spirit user in South Carolina and…anyway. You have to understand that you _cannot_ tell Christian."

"Laina-"

"Promise me that you won't tell him."

I nodded. "I promise, but he'll find out sooner or later."

"Yes, I know, but let me be the one to tell him."

I slowly nodded. I looked to her left to see her arm bleeding. "What happened?"

"I ran into a bush. I'm a klutz, don't worry." She touched the cut and it suddenly healed.

"You should really tell that to Christian. He's freaking out." She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "So, what was that back there? When I hit the wall."

"I can mentally throw objects or simple levitation."

"Levitation? Like, floating objects?"

She nodded. "Watch." She took off my _chotki_. It was a gift from Lissa. A cross hung from it and on the back was the Dragomir crest. The bracelet was only worn by a Dragomir guardian. Laina held it in front of her and it soon lifted into the air. "It's hard being a spirit user who wants to fight. Our specialty isn't the fighting element, but mine is. Rose, I can actually fight. I've been practicing on my mental strength and I could stake a Strigoi. I've done it once." She dropped my _chotki_ and handed it back to me.

"You've staked a Strigoi using spirit?" She nodded.

"Rose." I turned around and looked up at Adrian. "I can sense Lissa. They're coming this way."

I nodded. I turned back to Laina. She had that scared look in her eyes. "Come on, Laina. We should go."

She slowly shook her head. "I can't go, not after what I just did. Rose, I feel terrible. I used compulsion on four people. And what I did to you and Adrian…I just-" She shook her head again, lost for words.

Before I could say anything I heard the door burst open. Laina slightly moved back, bringing her knees closer to her. Adrian left us and I could hear him trying to stop Christian. I slipped into Lissa's head.

She was standing back with Eddie, watching Christian and Adrian. "Christian, just stop. She doesn't need people crowding around her."

"That's my sister. I'm supposed to be there for her."

I could hear rage rising in Christian, but there was something else. Sadness and hurt. I've never really experienced it, but I knew what he felt. He and Laina had been apart for about ten years. Ever since Laina came back, he felt the need to protect her and always be by her side. Ever since the bond formed between me and Lissa, I felt I should always be by her side and protect her. There's a reason things like this happen.

Through Lissa, I saw Adrian was trying to push Christian back. Lissa felt hurt. She's never seen Christian like this. She slowly walked over to him and set her hand on his arm. "Laina!" I snapped out of Lissa's head. I looked at Laina. She was crying again, but showed little emotion. "Laina!"

I turned around. "Christian, you need to calm down." I heard Lissa say.

"Lissa, get Christian out of here!" I yelled. When I kept hearing protests I stood up.

"Rose."

I looked at Laina. "I'll be back."

I turned around and walked over to where everyone was. Adrian was still holding Christian. "Rose, let me see her." Christian said.

I shook my head. "You'll only make things worse. Christian, you need to leave. You'll get to talk to her on the way to Court."

For once, Christian actually looked hurt. I felt bad having to keep him away from his twin sister. Finally he stopped struggling. He slowly backed away towards the door. Lissa reached for his hand, but he pulled away. With that he ran out of the small attic and down the stairs. Lissa looked at me. "We'll see you on the plane." She nodded.

She and Eddie left to go find Christian. I glanced around for Adrian, but I didn't see him. I walked to the back of the attic to see him knelt down next to Laina. She was asleep. I looked at Adrian. "She's worn out. She used too much spirit today."

"Shouldn't she be going crazy?"

He laughed and looked at me. "Would you rather she go crazy or stay asleep?"

"Point taken. Do you think you can carry her? We need to get ready to go to Court."

"You seem happy about it. You're welcome."

I was about to question him, but I understood. It was Adrian. He's the one making this trip possible. Ever since Lissa told me we were going, I expected that it was Dimitri. He seemed to always help me and get me out of trouble, but seeing as Adrian _is_ an Ivashkov, relative to the queen, he could almost get what he wanted. Almost.

"Thanks."

"Alright, let's see what I can do." He put his left arm under her knees and his right arm behind her back. He stood up with Laina in his arms.

"You're pretty strong for a Moroi." I said as we walked towards the door.

"I'm insulted, but thank you. I'm seriously going to need a drink after this."

I rolled my eyes. We walked down the stairs and into the church. We walked out of the church, conversation dropped. "Rose!" I turned around to see Dimitri running towards us. As he got closer I noticed that he had a few bruises on his face. His perfect, gorgeous face. I shook my head and came back to reality. "What happened?" He asked when he saw Laina.

"Uh, she hit her head pretty hard. We were headed to the dorms so she could lie down."

"Rose, you're a terrible liar."

He knows me too well. "I'm not lying. She really did hit her head. Adrian is a witness."

Dimitri looked between the two of us. "Fine. You two need to get ready to go to Court. I'll take Laina to the infirmary. I'll bring her back when she's better." I nodded.

Adrian stepped forward to hand over Laina when she began to move. Her arms found their way around Adrian's neck and I couldn't help a smile. "Looks like someone has a crush on you, Adrian."

He snapped his head up. "What?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Adrian, were you…just staring at her? You like her, don't you?"

"No. No of course not. I was just…"

I held my hand up. "Save it."

He handed her over to Dimitri. "I'll see you two on the plane." Dimitri walked away with Laina in his arms.

Adrian turned to me. "I need to go pack. I'll see you later."

He walked away. "I know you like Laina!" I called to him with a smile. He waved it off and I laughed. I walked towards Christian's room.

* * *

**Author's Note: **This chapter was long. I had to break it up becasue it was like 8 pages. Ok, so Laina is a spirit user! I'm happy i made her like that. So, to all of you Christian lovers (including me) you'll probably b ticked off about what i did in the next chapter. Guess you have to wait to see what i did, then again you're probably made about what i did to him in this chapter. lol. Ok, bye. REVIEW!


	5. Emotions and More Emotions

**Author's Note: **ok, so this one's a bit more shorter, but a lot more detailed. It still has a lot od dialogue, but i don't think it's as much as previous chps.

**Adrian: **Yes, adrian. We all know that you know what i did to Christian in this chapter. You don't have to rub it in. JK :P

I wanna thank everyone who's Favorited/Alerted this story, it encourages me to continue. Enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer: You know what's belongs to who.**

* * *

When I got to Christian's room, I found him lying down on his bed with his back turned to me. I slowly and quietly closed the door. My bag was pretty much packed, seeing as I didn't throw everything on the floor. I saw Christian's bag by the bed and it was ready to go whenever he was. I took a deep breath and walked over to him.

I had reached my hand out to wake him up when he spoke, "Don't bother. I couldn't sleep." I took a small step back and watched as he sat up without meeting my gaze. He pulled his left knee to him and set his chin on top of it. His eyes closed as he took a deep breath. "Where is she?" He asked.

"Dimitri took her to the infirmary so she's resting. She hit her head."

He let out a harsh, bitter laugh. "Rose, you're forgetting that she's my twin. I know she didn't hit her head, but something is wrong with her. You know what's wrong. Tell me."

Even though he wasn't looking at me, and believe me that if I were him I wouldn't want to look at me either, I shook my head, feeling terrible. "I can't tell you."

He opened his eyes and looked at me. Now I could see why he didn't want to look at me. It wasn't just because I wouldn't let him see his twin sister. That, of course, was one reason. No, this was something I would never have guessed. If someone had come up to me five months ago and told me Christian Ozera, snarky, sarcastic, doesn't-give-a-care Christian, was crying in his room, I would've died laughing. But here it was, right in front of me. Here _he_ was right in right in front of me. His face was tear stained, his eyes blood shot and his hair a mess on top of his head. I wasn't sure what to do, weather I just stand there and say nothing, or comfort him and say tons of words to help make him feel better. Instead, I did a little of both. I quickly ran to the bathroom and grabbed tissue. I ran back out and sat next to him. I handed him the tissue and threw my arm around his shoulders. Comforting someone without saying anything was probably less awkward for someone like me; talking more with my fists than anything. It was weird trying to comfort someone like Christian; one who isn't a super emotional person. Lissa, on the other hand, was easy to comfort and she was easy comforting others as well with her kind personality.

I saw as Christian's hand tightly closed around the tissue and it burst into flames. I flinched a little. Before I could say anything there was a knock at the door. "Christian?" It was Lissa. I looked at Christian. Just by the look in his eyes I understood what he wanted and I was slightly surprised. I shouldn't have been surprised at all when I didn't see Lissa in here when I came. Seeing as she wasn't here, Christian truly wanted to be alone and I found myself lucky to even have been let in. If Lissa's and Laina's roles were switched, he probably wouldn't have minded Laina trying to comfort him.

I stood up and walked over to the door with my own tears forming. I hadn't noticed until I reached the door. I quickly wiped them away before opening the door. Lissa's eyes widened at the sight of me. "Rose, I didn't expect you to be here. Are you…are you crying?"

I wiped away the tears that began to fall down my face. "It's complicated. Liss, I think you should go."

I didn't need the bond to know what she was feeling. It showed all over her face. Hurt. Confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Christian wants to be alone right now. He's not in the…well, he's just not talking. He really wants to see Laina. I know for sure he'll talk to you on the plane, but…" I looked over my shoulder at Christian. He was staring off into space. I turned back around and looked at Lissa as apologetically as I could. "We'll see you on the runway in a few minutes."

She slowly nodded and turned away. I watched as she walked down the hall. I stepped back and closed the door. More tears threatened to spill from my eyes and I let them. I turned around and looked at Christian. When I spoke it came out shaky, "We should probably go. Everyone is waiting." He nodded without looking at me. I grabbed my bag and threw it over my shoulder. Christian stood up and picked up his bag. He walked past me without meeting my gaze. He opened the door and I followed him out.

* * *

A few minutes of walking in silence and we finally got to the runway. I recognized a few guardians. They helped restrain Victor and turn him in for torturing Lissa. I looked around for Lissa, but didn't see her. She was probably inside the plane. I turned around to see Dimitri walking towards us with Laina beside him. The wind blew her dark hair in her face. She stopped dead in her tracks when her gaze fell on Christian. Dimitri put his hand on her shoulder and said something to her. She nodded and he continued walking. I put my hand on Christian's shoulder and he turned around. The twins stood there, staring at each other. They stood yards away from one another, but the way they acted made it seem as though they were three feet away. Christian dropped his bag on the ground. He began to walk towards her and she began to walk towards him. Finally, Laina ran to him and practically jumped into his arms. I smiled at the sight of them.

"Why do you look like you're about to cry?" Without looking at the person who talked, I shrugged. I easily knew it was Dimitri.

"I think I did enough crying today."

"Just because you were trained to be a guardian doesn't mean you can't show emotion, Roza." My heart stopped at the sound of my Russian name.

If it were anyone else who said my Russian name, I could've ignored it. But when Dimitri said it, it triggered something inside of me. He could say it all day and nothing about it would change.

I turned to look at him. "Do you cry?"

He didn't meet my gaze. Even though he looked way, his eyes seemed more distant from where he was looking. "Let's just say for as long as we know each other, you'll be lucky to see me cry once." I searched his face. Neutral as usual, but there was something else that I couldn't quite make out. I turned my attention back to the twins and they were walking towards us.

I noticed that Laina was wearing something different than what she wore during her little scene. She was wearing a gray, low-cut cashmere sweater that hugged her slim body, light jeans that seemed a size too big and white sneakers. The two stopped in front of me and Dimitri. I met Laina's crystal blue eyes. The expression on her face screamed nervous. She was going to tell Christian about her being a spirit user. I nodded.

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Come on, Chris. There's something I need to tell you." Christian raised an eyebrow. Laina looped her arm through Christian's and picked up his bag. They walked onto the plane with Dimitri and I following.

"Little dhampir! You finally made it!" I looked up to see Adrian standing in the aisle. He was just about to say more when his gaze fell on Laina. I looked at her as well to see that she put her hair into a ponytail. She was looking at Adrian. "How's your head, Laina?" He asked.

She gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Better. Thanks." Without another word, she sat down next to Christian. The rest of us also sat down.

I ended up sitting next to Eddie, which was perfectly fine with me. Lissa ended up sitting next to Dimitri and it made me feel better than her having to sit next to Adrian who sat alone in front of me. As soon as we were airborne, I suddenly wished I wasn't here. A major headache kicked in, and Adrian's constant talking wasn't making it any better. I closed my eyes and put my head against the window. I tried to block out Adrian, but I was nowhere near success.

After what felt like a lifetime, something in me snapped. "Adrian! For God's sake, will you please shut up?"

Alberta, an elderly guardian, shot up in her seat. "Rose, are you ok?"

I closed my eyes again. "No, I'm really not. I have the worst headache in the world and he really isn't helping out." When I opened my eyes I thought I saw some sort of shadow going through the plane. I couldn't make out what it was. I shook my head. I closed my eyes then opened them again to see Dimitri, Lissa, Christian and Laina. I saw more shadows cross my vision.

"She hasn't been eating much. She's been a bit worried about some things." Laina said, exchanging glances with Christian. By the look in his eyes I could tell he found out about her being a spirit user.

Alberta turned to the flight attendant that lingered nearby. "Can you find her something to eat and possibly a painkiller?"

Dimitri moved a bit closer. "Where's the pain at?"

I shook my head. "It's just a headache…it has to go away soon…" The stern look that he gave me made me point to the center of my forehead. "It feels like there's some kind of…pressure on my skull. And…the pain, I can feel it behind my eyes. I'm also seeing these weird…shadow things flying around."

Alberta sighed and I looked at her. "Nothing too terrible. What you're explaining are migraine symptoms. A simple migraine with vision problems. It's called an aura."

I looked at Adrian questioningly. He shook his head. "A different kind of aura. This type of aura are images and light you see when a migraine begins to form. It's completely different from the ones that surround people. The ones that tell you who someone is or what they're feeling. I can see yours, little dhampir. It's really…wow."

"Is it black, like you say it usually is?" He nodded. Finally the flight attendant came back. A banana and granola bar wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. She also gave me some ibuprofen to relieve the pain. Once I took it, I tried to get some sleep.

* * *

"Rose?" I opened my eyes and saw Lissa where Eddie once sat. I saw more shapes behind her and my head was still hurting. I closed my eyes again and rubbed my temples. "The headache hasn't gone away?"

I looked at her again. "Yeah, but it's-no." I didn't have to read her mind to know what she was going to do. "Liss, please don't. Don't do it."

"It'll be ok. Don't worry." She took my hand and clasped it between hers. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Through the bond, I could feel the magic swirling through her. She always loved the way how the magic felt warm and soothing, but we both knew that too much spirit made her go crazy. Adrian would drink and smoke to get rid of it. I had no idea what Laina did. I was ready to feel the magic run through me as it tried healing me, but nothing happened.

Lissa's eyes fluttered open. "What just happened?" She asked.

"That's the problem. Nothing happened. No difference in the pain."

"But…I felt it. The magic. I felt it and it worked."

"Liss, obviously it didn't work. It's ok. Really, it is."

"I just…I don't understand."

I looked up to see Adrian hanging over the seat again. "Any ideas?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I saw how you summoned the magic, Lissa. You had it. It just didn't have any effect on her."

"So, is there something wrong?" She asked.

"Maybe you just can't heal whatever she has."

"A headache?" I asked.

"How should I know? I'm no doctor."

"Maybe it's more than a headache." I jumped at the new voice. Behind Lissa was Laina. Concern filled her crystal blue eyes.

"How can it be more than a headache?" Lissa asked.

"Because I've healed headaches before. It's just like healing any scratch or deep wound." Lissa looked confused.

I looked at Laina. "You didn't tell her yet?" I asked.

"I thought she knew."

"Knew what?" Lissa asked.

"That your boyfriend is a twin to a spirit user." Adrian said.

Lissa looked at Laina and Laina smiled. "I would've never guessed."

Laina looked at me. "You should get some rest. We'll be at Court soon." I nodded. Lissa smiled before standing up and walking away with Laina. Adrian had already sat back down. I closed my eyes and tried to get as much sleep as possible.

* * *

"Rose, wake up." I opened my eyes and yawned. I looked up to see Lissa and Laina standing next to each other. "How are you feeling?" Lissa asked.

I stood up and stretched. "Much better. Though I don't mind eating real food." The two girls laughed.

"Well," Laina started. "that shouldn't be a problem." I turned to look out the window. I smiled. We were here. The Moroi Royal Court.

* * *

**Author's Note: **You guys are probably mad at me that i made Christian cry, aren't you? I'm mad at myself, but it _is_ mine and i had to make it a bit...unusual, i guess you can call it. Besides Adrian, since she "knows everything", did you guys see the sparks forming between Adrian and Laina? lol. I know some of you guys are Rose and Adrian fans but...i gotta put more into the story. I forgot to ask you guys last chapter, what did you think of Laina's outfit that i gave her? The black one? Can't you imagine it? I'd totally wear it if it were a real outfit. lol. Ok, plze REVIEW! I already know you'll review, Adri.


	6. Welcome to the Moroi Royal Court

**Author's Note: **Ok, i know it's been awhile and Adrian is anxious to read so i'm trying to post fast for all of my fantastic readers. I don't have too much to say so...enjoy.

* * *

As soon as I stepped off the plane I was hit with wet, blustery weather. Being on the East Coast, well Pennsylvania was close enough, it was much colder than the wintery weather in Montana. The Academy and the Royal Court wee very similar. It was a mix of the old, ancient ways and modern style. The Royal Court was big enough to get lost in, so I'd have to be careful or make sure I'm around people who know these grounds.

We were met by a group of guardians who were similar: black pants with a matching coat and white shirt underneath. All of the guardians wore them. These guardians knew Alberta and Dimitri. Why wouldn't they? Alberta and Dimitri knew _everyone_. All of us immediately became friendly with them. We quickly got inside and felt relieved to be out of the cold. We were taken to a building where all guests stayed. And surprisingly, we got our own rooms. That made me nearly jump for joy. I wouldn't have to share a room with crazy twins. The only reason we didn't have to stick with the field experience rule to share a room is because of how heavily guarded the Court is.

Alberta turned to us and eyed Lissa and Laina. "The queen would like to see the two of you in an hour."

Lissa and Laina exchanged looks. As confused as Lissa seemed, surprise ran through the bond. The last time Lissa had an encounter with Tatiana, she embarrassed Lissa in front of the whole school because she ran away with me.

"Uh, sure. But…what about Rose?" Lissa asked.

Alberta shook her head. "Like I said, it's only you and Maralaina."

"Laina. Just call me Laina." Laina argued. We all smiled.

"Well, Rose isn't going. The queen only wants to talk to the two of you."

I rolled my eyes. I had no idea what Tatiana wanted with Laina, but with Lissa? Probably to scold her more about having to hang around me. I bit my lip to prevent me from saying something that could possibly get me kicked out of Court.

I walked to my room and nearly fell over when I walked inside. There was a TV. An actual TV that I could watch whatever I wanted. The rest of the room was fancy, but kept its simple modern look. The white leather couch looked so clean and untouched, I was afraid to sit on it. I sat on it anyway and turned on the TV. _Come talk. _I groaned in frustration at the message I got from Lissa. I stood up and left my room, only to go next door.

I knocked and a few seconds later Laina answered. "Hey Rose Bush." She moved to the side so I could walk in.

"Is that my new nickname?" I asked her.

She smiled. "Yes it is. It's amazing what you can do with a name. Vasilisa to Lissa to Liss, as Rose sometimes says. Maralaina to Laina to Lai, as Christian calls me. And of course, Rosemarie to Rose to Rose Bush."

I heard Lissa laugh. "How come my nickname is longer than my name? Rose Bush? Rose? Doesn't make sense." Lissa laughed again and Laina smiled. I turned around to see Lissa rummaging through her suitcase. "Ok, what do you need?" I asked.

"To know what to wear."

Laina walked over to her. "I told you what to wear: The layered skirt and white blouse."

"Why not a dress?"

"No dress," I told her. "You don't want to seem too formal. Wear the print blouse and black slacks."

"I agree with Rose. It's not too formal and not too casual." Laina said. Lissa shrugged and chose the outfit I suggested. "And since you're not wearing it." Laina said as she grabbed the outfit she suggested.

"Hey, get your own outfit."

"I don't have one that isn't…too party style or too casual."

I sat down on the couch. It wasn't leather, like mine, but plush velvet. After the two got dressed they applied makeup to their pale faces making them look livelier. I never realized how much I missed cosmetics until now. Being a guardian, you don't really have to worry about that kind of stuff. You don't need to dress up for fighting Strigoi.

"Why do you think the queen wants to see us?" Lissa asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Maybe to explain why we're here and to say some kind of welcome to Laina." Both girls shrugged.

"Maybe she's jealous of you." Laina said. I nodded in agreement. I told Laina about the time Tatiana came to the Academy and practically yelled at Lissa.

"You guys' are crazy. Why would _the queen_ be jealous of me?"

"Because people give you so much attention," I said. "Being queen, Tatiana expects the spotlight to stay on her as long as she's queen. But because you're the last Dragomir it makes even more sense for the spotlight to be on you. You'll always be center of attention. The queen is just another individual Ivashkov and there are thousands of them."

"Maybe because so many guys keep their eyes on ten different women and have illegitimate children." Laina said while putting pearl earrings on.

"Guys like Adrian?"

Laina looked at me and the way she did it made her look like a child. "He doesn't have any kids."

"That we know of. But I understand why you're standing up for him Miss 'He's so hot'."

Laina rolled her eyes and smiled. "I just…know him."

Lissa turned to me. "Why are you always so mean to him?" She asked me.

"Why are you standing up for him? You use to scold me, or at least try to, about what a bad influence he is."

"Adrian _is_ a bad influence, I'll admit, but being around him I've learned that he's not a bad guy. And all those stories about him and other girls are just rumors." She pulled out a small gold chain and tried putting it around her neck.

I scoffed. "I don't. Knowing how Adrian is, those rumors are probably true."

I watched as Laina helped put the necklace around Lissa's neck. "Those stories _aren't _true, Rose. You need to stop seeing the bad side of him." Laina said, dropping her hands after helping Lissa then turning to me.

"Laina, how would you know? You're letting your little crush on him blind you from seeing the truth. And Lissa, you're letting spirit practice with him blind _you_."

"I don't like Adrian and I know him because I'm a spirit user. Spirit is an element that uses mind tricks. Tricking people into seeing something that's not there, healing things…levitation. It all has to do with the mind, so I know him."

"Laina's right, Rose. About everything. We both know Adrian and he seems to really like you. I have a feeling it's a wanting-to-be-serious relationship."

I stared at Lissa. "Are you sure we're talking about the same Adrian Ivashkov?"

"The one and only."

"Come on, Rose Bush. Give him a chance." Laina told me.

"Why don't you go out with him?" I asked her. I didn't mean for the words to come out, but I didn't regret saying it.

"Because I don't like him like that. If I did like him, he likes you anyway. There wouldn't be a chance."

"So, I'm the only one standing in your way."

"Didn't you hear me? I said I don't like him like that."

I knew she was lying. She likes him as much as he likes me. The room grew quiet. I watched Lissa try to style her hair. "Wear it up." I told her.

"Rose, you should start going out again. I mean, I understand it hasn't been that long since Mason, but…"

"Mason and I were never really going out. As much as I hate to admit it…it was only puppy love."

"You'll find someone. Someone you love and loves you back."

Dimitri came to mind. "You're the only one that I love and need to worry about. I don't have time for stuff like that."

"You'll find time."

"Whatever you say, but just think. We're graduating this year. You're going to college and everything will be great."

"It's kind of scary, going off to college, I mean. It feels like just yesterday we met. At least you'll be with me. And Dimitri of course."

I smiled, but it disappeared when I realized something. I sighed. "I guess that means Christian will be around too since you're dating him."

"Most likely. You, me, him, Dimitri and any guardians Christian gets."

Laina cleared her throat. "I might as well not exist."

"And of course you and your guardians. One big happy family."

"We won't be happy all of the time." I muttered.

Once Lissa and Laina finished, they both looked at the clock. "We should go. Rose, will you go with us?"

"You know I can't."

"I mean through the bond."

I was shocked by her question, but nodded anyway. "Of course I will."

The three of us walked out together and separated. As soon as I got comfortable in my room I went into Lissa's head. Now that I could control it, I could easily slip in and out of her head. Except when she gets really emotional and she accidentally pulls me in. Lissa and Laina had made it to the parlor in which the queen was waiting for them. Tatiana was sitting in an armchair. She was dressed in a navy blue skirt and blazer. She might as well be going on a business trip. Sitting next to her was a tall Moroi with blonde hair. I easily recognized her: Priscilla Voda, a friend and adviser of the queen. She was nice and always comfortable to be around. Guardians stood around in their usual black and white attire. I noticed Adrian sitting on a couch and seeing him made me even more curious about why they were there. Then again, Adrian _is_ related to the queen.

The guardian that accompanied Lissa and Laina stepped forward. "Princess Vasilisa Dragomir and Maralaina Ozera."

Tatiana nodded. "Welcome. Please sit down."

The two sat on the couch with Adrian. Laina sat between them and she seemed happy and uncomfortable at the same time. Probably happy to be sitting next to Adrian, but uncomfortable to be in the presence of the queen. A Moroi servant came by and offered a drink. They both shook their heads. Tatiana had been observing the two girls and even I felt uneasy.

Tatiana focused on Laina. "You've been gone for years, so I've heard. Why did you leave?" Seems like Lissa isn't the only one that needs scolding in Tatiana's eyes.

I saw Laina tense and straighten up, trying to fix her posture as best she could. "I needed to get away for awhile, Your Majesty. I honestly didn't expect to be gone for so long."

"How long have you been gone?"

"About ten years, Your Majesty." Laina looked very uncomfortable.

"I also heard that you left someone very close to you. Your twin brother, Christian Ozera, am I correct?"

Laina's hands turned to fists. Lissa touched her arm, trying to calm her down. Laina gathered herself together and eyed the queen. "Yes, Your Majesty. I felt terrible, I admit, but it felt like the right thing to do."

Tatiana nodded and looked at Lissa. "I've heard many stories about you, Vasilisa, and everyone seems impressed. Every time someone talks about you it's always positive. Of course, in spite of your transgressions…I've come to understand they weren't entirely without their reasons." Lissa seemed to have stopped breathing. "Yes, I know all about your ability…both of you."

Laina's eyes grew wide. "Pardon me, Your Majesty, but how do you know about me?" Laina asked.

"I know people." Tatiana's gaze flickered over to Adrian. Laina looked at Adrian and he only shrugged. Tatiana continued on, "I also know about what happened with Victor and I'm terribly sorry. Adrian's been filling me in about spirit. I find it interesting. Vasilisa, do tell me…can you…" Her gaze fell on a nearby table. Sitting on it was a flowerpot.

The plant was practically dead. The flower and stem was brown and hanging over the edge of the pot. The leaves looked like the smallest touch of it would make it turn to dust. Lissa hesitated. She felt uneasy about using spirit in front of others. She finally reached over and touched the plant. The stems shot up, nearly growing about a foot high. It came to life and a white flower burst open. A Cherokee Rose, I realized. Lissa turned her attention back to the queen.

"Maralaina, can you do the same?"

"Not exactly, Your Majesty. I can heal, but I'm capable of doing something else."

"Do show me." Laina looked at the flower pot and slowly began to lift off of the table. The flower pot flew towards her and she caught it in her hands. "You can levitate objects?" Tatiana asked. Laina nodded. "Interesting."

"There ability can be useful." Priscilla said to Tatiana. "These three can't be the only ones out there. Maralaina has been gone for ten years and her specialty is unbelievable. She seems to understand the use of it and can control it. She must've learned from another spirit user."

Lissa bit her lip. Adrian and Laina were the only ones she knew about that used spirit. She was excited that she'd get a chance to find more, but she still felt uneasy. "I beg your pardon, Princess Voda, but…I'm not sure you should use others' healing abilities as much as you want."

Tatiana narrowed her eyes. "Do explain," Tatiana said. "Because from what I know, you can heal just about anything."

"I can, but…I mean, I _do_ want to help and I wish I can, but I can't. Even if I could, there are others out there like Victor who will abuse our spiritual ability. Eventually it comes down an important decision. Not everyone will get to live and we have to decide who's important enough to live. Spirit is powerful, but…"

"But what?" Lissa looked at Laina and she took over.

"Your Majesty, I think what Vasilisa is trying to say is as powerful as spirit is, it's also limited. It has terrible side effects and I had to learn that the hard way. If we use too much spirit we'll literally go insane and want to hurt others and eventually…we'll die. It's not official that we'll die, but…it's a possibility. But anyway, Adrian is someone who can control spirit. Because of all the alcohol he…constantly drinks, spirit is blocked out. But back to what Vasilisa was saying, it will come down to those who _need_ to be saved, not want. We need to heal certain people such as the guardians. They're just as important as any individual Moroi."

Tension filled the room. I could swear that if I didn't know it was Laina talking I would've mistaken her for Tasha Ozera. Tatiana narrowed her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

Lissa took over and I had a feeling it would go back and forth like this. "Everyone knows there's a way guardians are distributed. Only high up people get them. Royals, rich people and of course those in power."

The room grew silent again. "You don't believe that our royals deserve the protection they _need_? Vasilisa, I'm sorry to say, but we don't want other royal families turning out like yours."

If I had been with Lissa I would've snapped. "I'm not exactly saying that. Yes, the royals do need as much protection as they can get, but we'll end up putting more lives at risk. We need to reconsider things. New ways." I was proud of Lissa for her actions. She knew what she was doing and so did Laina.

They weren't exactly talking back, just saying what they think is better. But knowing Tatiana, she wouldn't let them win. They were still in claimed territory. "Maralaina, you are in favor of Moroi fighting Strigoi, correct?" Laina nodded. She seemed slightly afraid to speak. "And Vasilisa, you too are in favor?"

"I think that if Moroi think they should then that shouldn't be denied; it's what they stand for."

"Moroi lives are precious. We cannot risk their lives." Tatiana's voice began to rise.

"Dhampir lives are just as precious as any Moroi. If dhampirs and Moroi work together fewer lives will be at stake. Moroi should learn to defend themselves. People like Tasha Ozera have developed ways for Moroi to fight."

Tatiana frowned. Strigoi had attacked Tasha and she's been learning to defend herself ever since. "Tasha Ozera is nothing but a troublemaker and that's all she'll ever be."

"She's trying to help us. She's giving ideas." Laina said. By the look in her eye I could tell she was furious by the way Tatiana talked about her aunt. Her fear was now gone, replaced by anger and confidence in standing up for her aunt. "For centuries, people have been called troublemakers just because of ideas they share with the Moroi world. Do you want to know the truth?"

Something passed over Tatiana. She didn't _look_ taken aback by Laina, but she was probably keeping her neutral queen look. "Always."

"Then here it is: we need change. In everything. I'll admit, our traditions are important and I respect them. But to be honest we're misguided."

"Misguided? Explain."

Lissa and Laina looked at each other. Lissa nodded. She knew that Laina was about to go full out on the queen and she was allowing her. Laina wasn't afraid any more. She turned back to the queen. "Gladly. We've developed over time, taking present technology. Technology has made our lives better, but we still cling to the past. I agree with Vasilisa. Another thing we should change is the way we treat guardians. We shouldn't cling to the past as much as we are." Laina was smiling at herself and Lissa was also smiling.

They both did well in telling Tatiana their feelings. "Both of you are interesting to talk to, but sadly I have things I must do that are much more important than listening to your impractical ideas." She stood up and everyone followed suit. "I won't be joining you for dinner, but I hope you and your companions find everything you need. I shall see you at the trial tomorrow. At least Victor's imprisonment is something we all agree on." Tatiana left with Priscilla and two guardians following.

Lissa, Laina and Adrian were left alone in the room. "Well done, to the both of you. Not many people who can throw her off-balance."

Laina shot him a confused look, but kept the smile on her face. "She was off-balance? She didn't look it."

"Oh, she was. A lot of people have never talked to her liked that and believe it or not she was impressed, as well as I was. Especially by you, Laina."

Laina looked away and slightly blushed. "Thanks."

Adrian stood up and held out a hand to both girls. "Come on. I'll give you a tour to take your mind off of what just happened."

"I've been here before when I was younger." Lissa said.

"Well, things change. And I think Laina would love to look around this place. They have a twenty-four hour bar here, did you know? Let's get a drink."

"I don't want a drink."

Laina took Adrian's hand and stood up. "I do. I feel so dizzy. Believe it or not that little show I put together with levitating the flower pot put a number on me. I was surprised I had enough strength to say what I said."

I left Lissa's head. I didn't want to see Laina and Adrian get drunk and Lissa have to try and help them. I sat up and felt like I was full of energy. I stood up and left my room to take a tour of my own. I headed downstairs with a smile on my face, thinking about how Laina and Lissa stood up to the queen. I stopped when I saw Christian and Eddie talking to someone.

Eddie saw me and grinned. "Rose, just in time. Look who we found."

I walked towards them and Eddie and Christian moved out of the way. I stopped again. The girl grinned at me. "Hi, Rose."

Another smile slowly crept onto my face. "Hello, Mia."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Long chapter, i know. But that's a good thing. I kept it really close to Chapter Eleven in the book. Reread tht chapter and this chapter if u want nd foind out how close it is. I love how i made Laina stand up to Tatiana like that. But, if it were me i would've went farther out than that. I would've stood up and yelled at her. lol. But wouldn't you?

**Adrian: **So here you go, Adri. One of the chapters you've been really looking forward to. I know you have ideas and don't be afriad to tell them to me and whenever you want if you don't feel lyk makinf ur own account i can post your story if you want.

Anyway, i hope you guys liked this chapter. REVIEW! plze. i'll give you watever u want...except for money. lol. bye.


	7. Conversational Arguments

**Author's Note: **QUICK POST! YAY! I'll try to do it this fast, but school is always getting in the way. I haev a lot of stuff to do this weekend, but luckily i've already started. Ok, so what did you guys think of last chapter? Was it ok or did you think it was _too_ close to the story? Then again i want it to be close to the book so...anyway. I hope you guys like this chapter.

* * *

I found myself surprised that I was happy to see Mia. She was only a year younger than me, but when I first met her I'd make fun of her and say stuff like she belonged in the elementary campus or she needed to take a nap. She had some kind of grudge on Lissa so I tried getting her back, but it always seemed to make thing worse.

Mia also went with Mason and Eddie to fight the Strigoi in Spokane. She witnessed Mason getting killed and witnessed me slaughtering the Strigoi. If it wasn't up to her I probably would've been dead. She used her water magic to distract one of the Strigoi. That day changed her life just as it changed mine, Christian's and Eddie's. She was definitely one Moroi who thought they should fight Strigoi and I respected that.

I hadn't seen Mia since Mason's funeral, and that was a month ago. Seeing her now made it seem more like a year. Back to when I made comments about her, she looked so young and like a doll. She was shorter than most Moroi and had those young, round cheeks. Her hair used to be in perfect ringlets but today, her golden blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail with only a slight amount of curl showing. She wasn't wearing any makeup and it made a huge difference compared to when she did. Her skin was slightly chapped and she had the smallest hint of a tan, which you can tell is rare for a Moroi with their pale skin and aversion to sunlight. If she looked like this when we first met I wouldn't have been able to make those young jokes about her.

She laughed, obviously at my expression. "Come on, Rose. It hasn't been that long since we last saw each other. You look like you don't recognize me."

I smiled. "For a second, I didn't recognize you." We hugged and it felt weird. It feels like just yesterday she was plotting against me and I'd broken her nose. "What are you doing here?"

"Come on, I'll explain everything."

I didn't exactly know where we were going, but I found myself in a little coffee shop in a neighboring building. Almost like an outlet mall. Sitting here with my friends made me feel almost normal. When we sat down, Mia immediately started talking. "I'm living with my dad because he started working here." Moroi children were always sent off to an Academy like St. Vladimir's. Moroi children living with their parents are rare.

"You don't go to school?" I asked.

She shrugged. "There are a few rich kids here who have personal tutors. My dad found a way for me to get one for different subjects. I'm studying the same stuff I was studying back at St. Vladimir's, it's just slightly different. The great thing, less teacher time, but there's more homework."

"You've obviously been doing more than your normal work habits unless outside work is involved." Eddie said.

We had noticed the same thing about Mia. Looking at her hands I could see calluses. She smiled. "I've met some friendly guardians who didn't mind showing me a few things."

Christian pointed a finger at her. "Someone's a risky girl. There's still that debate thing about Moroi fighting."

"Not exactly. The debate is about Moroi fighting with _magic_, not hand-to-hand." She corrected him.

"Actually, they are. It's just not as big a comparison to the magic controversy." I said.

"Well, as long as it's not illegal I'm going to continue it. I doubt anyone will even pay attention, seeing as I'm not a royal Moroi. They don't have much to worry about." Mia's family was indeed a non-royal family, but there was nothing wrong with that.

Being around here she was reminded of how low her family is. But being able to do what she wasn't able to do she seemed…happier. "You've changed." Christian said.

"I think we've all changed. You seem really different, Rose. Has there been anything else going on?"

I shook my head and we all fell silent. I knew that when she said 'anything else' she was referring to what happened in Spokane. Being here with Mia, Christian and Eddie…it didn't really help. All of us were there during the tragedy. Once conversation started again, it was about what was happening at the Academy.

Which reminded me, "Christian, did you tell Mia the secret?"

Mia looked between the two of us. "What secret?" She asked.

I looked at her. "Christian has a twin sister. Her name is Laina."

Mia's eyes grew big. "What? Why didn't you ever tell us?"

Christian shrugged. "Never thought of it as something important until she showed up at the Academy."

"Is she here?" She asked. Christian nodded.

"Actually, she's here right now." I said.

I watched as Adrian, Lissa and Laina made their way over to the table. Fortunately, Lissa only had two drinks and wasn't completely drunk. Unfortunately, Laina was. Both Adrian and Lissa were trying to support here. Lissa noticed Mia, but was too busy with Laina to really pay too much attention to her.

Christian sighed. "Mia, I'd like to introduce to my sister, but maybe you can get a more formal introduction when she's sober."

Laina shot a glare at Christian. "FYI, Chris, I can still introduce myself." Her words were slightly slurred.

I looked at Adrian. "How many drinks did she have?" I asked him.

"Ten."

"Ten?" Christian and I yelled.

"She said it was one for each year she was gone. I tried to stop her but…she's stubborn and violent."

"By violent you mean…" I started, wanting Adrian to explain.

"She threw a glass cup at me with her mind. Thankfully, no one saw _how_ she threw it at me."

"Lai…" Christian said, shaking his head.

"Chris, it's no big deal. I can get over it fast." Adrian and Lissa sat her down and Adrian went to get her some water. Laina looked at Mia and smiled. "Sorry for my behavior."

Mia shook her head. "No big deal."

Laina looked back at Christian. "Chris, you have no idea how wonderful I feel right now. I can't feel spirit, it's totally blocked out. For now, of course."

Mia looked at Christian. "She's a spirit user too?" We all nodded. "You guys get more and more interesting as I learn what you've done this past month." She said with smile.

Adrian finally came back with the water. He sat next between Lissa and Laina. He handed the water to Laina and she downed it and sat back.

"So, how was your little meeting with the queen?" Christian asked Lissa.

"It was…ok."

"Ok?" Laina practically yelled. "I pretty much yelled at the queen. You saw, didn't you, Rose Bush?" I nodded.

Christian laughed. "Rose Bush? What kind of nickname is that?"

Laina glared at Christian and he seemed to have shrunk back in his seat. Lissa smiled. "Anyway, as Laina was trying to say, it wasn't exactly great either. She only talked to us about spirit and a way to use it. She didn't yell or humiliate me. To Laina? She wasn't the happiest queen."

Adrian smiled and put an arm around both Laina and Lissa. "You guys should've seen how Laina stood up for Tasha. She wasn't afraid to get in trouble, obviously." Laina laughed and leaned against Adrian.

"I don't suppose she said why she decided to let us come to Victor's trial, did she?" Christian asked. He didn't look very happy about what was going on. I understood. Adrian was in dangerous waters right now. He had one arm around Lissa and one arm around Laina. Two people Christian cared dearly about. His girlfriend and twin sister.

"Adrian did it." I said.

Christian looked confused. "What?" He asked.

Adrian smiled and turned to Lissa. "He convinced the queen that we needed to be here for the trial. He practically harassed her until she finally caved." She said.

"It's not harassment. It's 'persuasion." Adrian said. Laina and Lissa laughed. I smiled.

Christian groaned. "Anyway, how closely are you two related?"

"She's my great-aunt and I'm her favorite great-nephew and it's not just because I'm her _only_ great-nephew."

"I don't believe it."

"I'll second that." I said. An agreement between me and Christian was freaky, so you could tell it was rare.

"None of you people appreciate me." Adrian said.

"That's a lie, Adrian." I said. I flicked my gaze over to Laina. She was oblivious to it.

Adrian stood up and stretched. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and shook them. "At least they show me respect."

When he left, Christian turned to Lissa and Laina. "You guys weren't getting drunk, were you?" I pointed at Laina.

"Stupid question." I said. I was suddenly hit in my head with a pack of sugar. "Hey!" I yelled, turning to Laina.

She shrugged. "I didn't do it." She smirked and I knew she used spirit to do that.

I looked around and thankfully found that no one paid any attention. Christian looked at Lissa and raised an eyebrow. "I'm not drunk, Christian. I had two drinks. That's it. Since when did you get so overprotective like this?"

"Since Adrian became a bad influence!"

"Adrian isn't a bad influence!" We all turned to Laina.

"What are you talking about?" Christian asked.

"I know Adrian. I know he may seem like a bad influence but you don't know him as well as I do."

Lissa talked, "And besides, he helped us get here. If it wasn't for him we'd be back at the Academy. He didn't have to help us, but he did anyway. You're acting like he's the most evil person on the planet."

"Yes, because he did it out of kindness." Christian muttered.

"Why else would he do it?"

"Oh, I don't know." He said as he rolled his eyes.

Lissa's eyes widened and shock ran through the bond. "You think he did all of this for me? Do you think there's something going on between us?"

"Let me see: you guys drink together, practice magic together, and go to those fancy, royal events together. What's do you think?"

"Chris!" Laina yelled.

Anger burned through Lissa and that burned through the bond to me. She was seriously about to lose it and Laina also looked angry, but there was hurt behind her anger. Lissa was angry at Christian because she didn't think he could trust her. I didn't need any psychic powers to know what the twins were thinking. Laina was mad because of how Christian saw Adrian. And Christian was jealous of Adrian and he was kind of ticked that his sister was standing up for Adrian and not him. I kneed Christian in his leg. He needed to shut up before he said something that would make both girls use spirit on him.

I was tired of all of this so I spoke out. "Lissa, you seriously need to chill. You might not be completely wasted, but really? You'll end up saying something as stupid as Christian. Laina, don't take sides on this. We know that you know Adrian better than most of us. And Christian, for God's sake, will you stop this whole jealousy thing? If Adrian did this for anyone it was because of me and his little obsession." I said the words before they came out. I looked back at Laina. Yeah, by the way she looked at me she was no longer drunk. She was completely aware of her surroundings and of what people said. "Laina, I'm-"

I didn't get to finish before she stood up and rushed out of the coffee shop. She knew and accepted the fact that Adrian liked me, but her feelings for him would never change. I sat back in my chair. I looked at Mia, nearly forgetting she was here as well as Eddie. Both were staring at me, but I only looked away. Soon enough, everyone started talking again as if that little scenario never happened. "I'll be right back." I said, interrupting the conversation.

I stood up and went outside, only to be hit by clove smoke. I looked at Adrian. "Don't even start about the whole smoking lecture. You knew I was still out here."

"I know. That's why I came out here. I couldn't stand what was going on."

He tilted his head to get a better look at me. His eyebrows rose up. "I've never seen you like this before. What happened in there? You were fine before I left."

"Didn't you see Laina come running out?"

He nodded. "_You_ made her cry?"

I searched his face. "She was crying?"

He nodded. "I tried talking to her, but she wouldn't let me."

Laina wouldn't let Adrian talk to her? I really messed up this time. I sighed. "Should I talk to her?"

He shrugged. "Whatever you wanna do, little dhampir. It's your problem."

"You're involved."

He stared at me. "How am I involved?"

"You'll find out eventually."

"I have a feeling I already know."

There was silence between us. "Anyway, Christian's jealous because of how much you and Lissa hang out and he's a bit ticked off that you're flirting with Laina."

He grinned. "So I might be flirting with his sister a little, big deal. And Lissa and I are only studying spirit. He's welcome to join any time."

"He also got upset because of what you did with the queen for Lissa. How you got us here."

"I didn't do it for her. I only did it for you, little dhampir."

"Thank you for helping us."

"Uh, am I hearing correctly? Did Rose Hathaway just say something nice to me? I can die a happy man."

"I'm not ungrateful." He only stared at me. "Not cool, Adrian."

He smiled. "How about a hug to redeem yourself?" I glared at him. "Just a small quick one?"

I sighed. I put one arm around him, leaning my head against him. "Thanks, Adrian. For everything."

I pulled away from him. It always felt weird hugging someone other than Dimitri. When I hug him, a current of electricity runs through me and we have this connection. But I realized something. Just like Lissa and Laina said, Adrian's not a bad guy once you get to know him.

The doors opened and my group of friends walked out. They looked surprised at the sight of me and Adrian, but I didn't care and only shrugged it off. "You guys heading out?" I asked.

"Yeah, looks like Mia has better things to do than hang out with her friends." Christian said, followed by a smirk.

"I have to meet up with my dad. I'll catch up with you guys later. Christian, tell your sister it was nice meeting her." She began to walk away when she stopped. "I nearly forgot." She reached into her pocket and handed me a folded up piece of paper. "One of the court clerks wanted me to give this to you."

"Thanks." I said, not sure what I was thanking her for. She waved to us and left while the rest of us walked towards our rooms. I unfolded the paper and read over the note. Anger bubbled inside of me when I saw who signed it.

"Who's it from?" Eddie asked as he came up next to me.

I folded the paper back up and stuffed it in my pocket. "No one to my interest." The signature said V. D.

Victor Dashkov.

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**Author's Note: **Long chapter. how'd you guys like this chapter? Laina's pretty ticked off at Rose, isn't she? I don't know if i'm going to have Lai forgive her so easily, though. What do you guys want? An easy, quick forgivness or totally ticked, long time forgivness? LET ME KNOW! lol. Ok, i hope you guys liked this chapter.


	8. Visiting Victor Dashkov

**Author's Note: **Ok, here's chp 8. I hope you guys like it.

* * *

When we got back to our rooms I had to make up an excuse to Lissa about how I needed to do something. She finally let me go after I practically begged for her to let me. When I found out what room Dimitri was in I went straight there. I knocked on his door and he opened it. He seemed surprised to see me and I didn't blame him. The last time I came to his room without a warning was when I was under Victor's lust charm and…well, things didn't exactly go too well.

"Can we talk?" He nodded and stepped aside to let me in. I handed over the note as soon as he closed the door.

He looked it over and handed it back. "Victor Dashkov."

I shook my head in disbelief. "What are we going to do? We can't just do nothing while he sells us out. Once he says a single word about it…"

I couldn't continue. Everything would be out of line if Victor was to tell about what happened. Dimitri didn't answer. He was trying to figure out _something_ and it was a whole lot better than nothing.

He finally pulled out his cell phone. "Hold on." While he was on the phone, I sat down on the couch and listened. Or listened as well as I could since the conversation took place in Russian. I couldn't understand a single word.

When he finished I stared at him. "What's going on?" I asked him.

"I'll let you know when I know for sure. We just have to wait."

I sighed. "Great. My favorite thing in the whole world."

He pulled up an armchair and sat opposite of me. I studied him for a while before letting my gaze travel around the room. It wasn't much, similar to mine. Beside me I saw one of his Western novels. I picked it up and looked at it. I flipped through the pages. I looked at him and held up the book.

"What's wrong with it?"

"You always read these."

"Some people actually read books for fun."

I put the book in my lap. "Hey, I read books. I like to solve mysteries that threatens one of my best friend's life and sanity. But this cowboy stuff that you always read…isn't much of the saving the world type."

He took the book from me and turned it over. He looked like he was in deep thought. "It's an escape to me. I don't really know. It's just something appealing about the Old West. No one lives by the rules. You don't have to be tied down by others' ideas of right and wrong in order to bring justice."

I raised an eyebrow and laughed. "I thought I was the one who broke all the rules."

"I never said anything about me wanting to break rules."

"I can read you, comrade. You can't lie to me. You want to jump into one of your books, slip on a cowboy hat and keep bank robbers in line."

He smiled. "I don't have the time. I'm too busy keeping you in line."

I grinned. The time that we were spending together right now was like that time we were cleaning the attic in the church. I only hoped we wouldn't get into a fight like that time. I always felt comfortable being around Dimitri. Back when we first met we'd have times like this.

"I'm sorry."

I came out of my thoughts and looked at Dimitri. "For what?"

"I wasn't able to get you here. I feel ashamed and like I let you down. That I couldn't help you."

I was caught off guard by his apology. I wondered if he was jealous that Adrian could do something that he couldn't, just like Christian was. But it was something else; completely different. I believed that Dimitri could do anything and it was giving him a hard time. I knew that deep inside of him, he felt the same.

"You didn't let me down. I was acting like a brat. You've never let me down before, and don't start thinking that you have. You'll never let me down."

We stared at each other for a while. Holding each other's gaze. I was drowning in his dark brown eyes. "Roza…" I stopped breathing. "There are so many things that give me a reason to love you."

I felt tears in the back of my eyes. "Dimitri, I-"

His phone rang. We were both disappointed. He answered his phone and another conversation took place in Russian. He stood up and put his phone away. "Let's go."

I raised an eyebrow. "Where?" I asked as I stood up.

"To see Victor Dashkov."

* * *

As I said, Dimitri knows _everyone_. Even people who could get us into the Court's prison facilities. As we walked down the hall to Victor's cell I leaned in to Dimitri.

"Why are we doing this? Do you really think we can talk him out of ratting us out?"

He only shook his head which made my hope plummet even more than it was. "He wants something. He wouldn't tell us what he was planning to do. He has to have some kind of motivation."

We finally reached Victor's cell. He was the only prisoner here. The cell wasn't what I expected. I expected it to look like a dungeon, but I was a bit off. I stared in the cell. Victor sat in a chair, examining his nails. Seeing him three months later put me out of my comfort zone I was just in with Dimitri. The worst thing of all about seeing him, was how young and healthy he looked. He had a horrible disease and to prevent him from dying quickly he tortured Lissa into making her use spirit to heal him. We all trusted him and was blinded by his 'kindness' to even think about him doing such a thing.

He looked up at us. He had the same pale jade eyes Lissa has. Our eyes met and he smiled. "Oh my, what do we have here? Rosemarie, practically an adult now." His gaze moved over to Dimitri. "But of course, someone already treats you like one."

I pressed my face against the bars. "We didn't come here so you can make some perverted comment. What do you want?"

I felt a gentle, familiar hand on my shoulder and I was pulled back. I looked at Dimitri. "Take it easy." I took a deep breath and turned back to Victor.

Victor sat up straight in his chair and laughed. "After so long, your little cub has yet to learn how to control herself. Then again, you probably never wanted her to."

"We aren't here to banter." Dimitri said calmly. "Why do you need us here?"

"There always has to be some foreboding reason to you dhampirs, doesn't there? Am I not allowed to know how she's doing? It's been three months and I know things have been happening." He kept that annoying smirk on his face. He was lucky that there were bars separating us.

I gritted my teeth. "We aren't here for friendly conversation."

"You want to believe that I'm joking, but you know I'm not. I truly do want to know how you're doing. You're always so fascinating to learn about, Rosemarie. A shadow-kissed person should always be fascinating. And you're the only one we know of."

"I'm not some new species of animals that you can just dissect and experiment on."

He only smiled and continued as if I hadn't said anything. "What has it been like? Have you…noticed anything different?"

"We don't have time for this." Dimitri warned. "If you don't get to the point we'll be leaving. We have much better things to do than listen someone as pathetic as you." Way to go, Dimitri.

The only thing was, as strong as those words were, he was still so calm. I didn't understand how he could stay like that in a situation like this. I turned back to Victor and gave him my coldest smile.

"There isn't a single possibility that they'll let you off tomorrow. I hope you enjoy living the rest of your life in prison. It won't be long, anyway. You'll just get sick and die in a lonely prison cell." That amused look he kept on his face made me want to reach in his cell and choke him.

"Everything dies, Rosemarie. Well, except for you, I suppose. Or it's a possibility that you are dead. Who knows? Those who visit the world of the dead have a connection to it, something they can never get rid of."

I had something to say to him, and I would've…if something weren't holding me back from saying it. _Those who visit the world of the dead_. That saying only made me more uncomfortable than I already was, and that's saying something being in the presence of Victor Dashkov. What if me seeing Mason has nothing to do with me being crazy? What if it's something else that has to do with me being shadow-kissed? Victor was the one who explained to me about being shadow-kissed. As much as I hated to say it, he probably had the answers I need.

My expression must've given away something, because Victor looked like he had something to say. "Is there something you'd like to say, Rosemarie?"

I hated asking him questions. "What's the world of the dead? Is it heaven or what? Is it…the underworld?"

"Neither." He said with a grin plastered on his face.

"What's there? Ghosts? Do things go in and out?"

So many questions. Victor seemed to be taking pleasure in my asking him questions, just as I feared he would. His smirk intensified. "Well, it's a bit obvious that things come out of it, because here you are standing before us."

"He's baiting you," Dimitri said. "Let's just leave."

Victor glared at Dimitri. "I'm _helping _her. You might not want to admit it, but you know I'm helping her." He turned back to me and his smirk returned. "The truth, Rosemarie? I don't really know anything about it. You're the one who has been to the land of the dead. Not me. Of course, not yet. I believe, someday, you'll be the one educating me."

"No more of this," Dimitri said harshly. "We'll be leaving."

"You can't leave yet. You've yet to tell me how Vasilisa is doing."

I moved closer again, pressing up against the bars. "Don't go anywhere near her."

Victor gave me a dry look. "I don't think you have anything to worry about, seeing as I'm locked away here. And besides, Vasilisa has everything to do with _everything_."

"That's it," I said, finally realizing it. "That's why you sent that note to me. You only want to know about her and this was the only way. You knew she wouldn't come talk to you. You don't have anything to blackmail her with."

"Such ugly words, Rose."

"There is _no_ way you're going to see her. At least, you won't see her outside of the courtroom. She'll never heal you. Like I said: You'll only get sick again and end up dying. You'll be the one to send me postcards from the other side."

"Is that really what you think this is about? That my needs are that petty?" His mockery was gone and for once I felt that I made the wrong turn. But he was the one in jail and the one going on trial. I could say whatever I wanted. But now that I paid more attention his sickness _was _coming back. He'd lost weight since I last saw him. Maybe prison was harder on him than I expected. "You've forgotten, haven't you? Why I did what I did? You've been so caught up in making your world perfect that you didn't notice the big picture."

I racked my brain, trying to remember everything that happened last fall. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. What I was focusing on were the wrong things. I'd forgotten so much, but now I remembered.

"You wanted to stage a revolution. And you still want to. But it won't happen." I said. My anger was picking up.

"But isn't it already happening? Do you think I haven't a clue what happens in the world? I still have many contacts. How else would I send you that message? I know about everything. That includes Natasha Ozera's movement to get Moroi to fight by guardians' side. I know that you stand by her, Rosemarie. I've tried to do the exact same, yet you don't regard her the same way."

"Tasha Ozera's cause is a bit differently than yours." Dimitri noted.

"And that is why she's getting no farther than where she is now." Victor said. "Tatiana and her council are blinded by centuries of archaic traditions. Nothing will change as long as that power is taking control. No Moroi will learn to fight. Royal or not. Dhampirs like yourself will continually be sent out to battle."

"It's what we are trained to do." Dimitri said. He was tensing and I could easily sense it. He was just as frustrated as I was, but he didn't show any sign of it.

"Don't forget, it's also what you lose your lives for. You're like slaves in our eyes and for smart dhampirs you don't even realize it. And for what reason is that? Why do you protect us?"

I sighed. "Because we need you…for our race to survive."

"That not a reasonable answer. At least, not reasonable for you to risk your lives. Making children isn't as hard as it seems." He smirked.

I only ignored him. "Also because the Moroi and their magic are important. The magic is used for amazing things."

"It _used_ to be amazing, if I may correct you. We used to be viewed as gods in the eyes of humans, but eventually we all grew lazy and our power slowly went south. The use of technology these days has made our magic…not very useful."

"If you have so many great ideas, why don't you make your life as useful as you can in prison and write yourself a testimony." Dimitri said.

"What does this have to do with Lissa anyway?" I asked, noticing how he'd go slightly off topic.

"Vasilisa is a vehicle for change, of course. I thought you'd be smart enough to figure that out, Rose."

I stared at him warily. "She's not going to lead your revolution, if that's what you're thinking."

"To be honest, I prefer that I lead it. But in my condition that won't do. She will eventually be a part of it. There're so many stories buzzing around about her. People are beginning to take notice in our young star. The Dragomir symbol is a dragon. The king of beasts which is proof that Vasilisa was meant to have power. That's why Strigoi have mainly focused on the Dragomirs'. Their line of power is incredible and as long as their line decreases the more balance will be thrown off. To make it even more interesting, she must've mastered her powers to increase the line of the Dragomirs. With her gift there's no telling what power she wields. People are automatically drawn to her. Just think that when Vasilisa tries to influence them…they'll do what she wants." His eyes were full of fascination and happiness.

I gritted my teeth. "Unbelievable," I said. "You can never make up your mind, can you? You, at first, want to hide her away so you can use her as your personal health miracle and now you want her out in the world to use her powers to make people do things they want. All for a psychopath like you."

"I already told you, Rosemarie. She can change this world. Just like you being shadow-kissed, she's the only one of her kind that we know of. She's both dangerous and valuable."

I was actually shocked. With everything that Victor was telling me I suspected he knew everything, just like he said. But the fact that he said Lissa is the only one of her kind and valuable…Victor didn't know as much as he thought. He doesn't know about Adrian or Laina's use of spirit. I wanted to make a snarky remark and smile deviously, but I knew one slip up and that would be the end of it. Victor wouldn't only have to use Lissa.

I took a deep breath, carefully choosing my words and not wanting to slip up. "She'll never do it. She won't abuse her powers. I know her. I know she won't…no matter if you have anything on her or don't."

"And Victor won't say anything about us," Dimitri said. "He's achieved his goal. He only brought you here to know more about Lissa."

He was tugging on my arm. He wanted to leave so badly before he snapped, and I felt the same way. Except I wanted to hear what Victor had to say, because anything he says will bring me a step closer to stuff I don't know about. All though, again, I actually know something Victor doesn't, so I was mentally applauding myself.

"He didn't find out much."

Victor grinned. "You'd be surprised." He turned to Dimitri. "And what makes you so certain I won't amuse the world about your romantic indiscretions?"

"Because, no matter what you have on us, it won't save you from spending the rest of your life in prison. And if you ruin Rose, you'll only ruin whatever slim chance you had of Lissa helping you and your twisted mind." Victor flinched a little. Dimitri was of course right. He stepped forward and pressed up against the bars. I thought my voice was scary, but when Dimitri spoke I stepped back a little. "And anything you try will be pointless because you're life is hanging on a weak thread. You aren't the only one with connections around here."

My breath caught a little, but it wasn't entirely out of love. Dimitri brought so many things to my life: love, comfort and instructions. I'd gotten so used to him over the time we've known each other that I nearly forgot how dangerous he could be. I remembered that when I got back to the Academy everyone viewed him as a god, and I suspected they were exaggerating. But here was, playing that godly role. If Victor was frightened, he didn't show it. He tried to seem tough as if Dimitri's threat was only child's play.

His smirk grew as his eyes glanced between the two of us. "You two are truly a match made in heaven…or whatever you prefer to call it."

I narrowed my eyes in disgust. "We'll see you in court." I said.

Dimitri and I left Victor to his lonely prison life. Dimitri had said a few things in Russian to the guardians and I suspected it was a thanks. We walked outdoors into a winter wonderland. The sleet had stopped and it left everything coated in a white blanket. Glancing at Dimitri, I saw his focus straight ahead. It was hard to tell, but to me it seemed like he was shaking. And it wasn't from the cold weather. I put my hand on his arm and a current of electricity ran through my body. I suspected he felt it too.

"Hey, you ok?" I asked him.

"Yes."

I searched his face for any sign of lying. I could fine none, but I was sure he was hiding them. "Are you sure?"

He took a deep breath. "I'll be fine."

"Do you think he'll tell everyone about us?"

"No. Of course not." We walked in silence for a while longer.

"Did you mean it when you threatened Victor that if he told you'd…" It was impossible for me to finish, but he knew what I wanted to say.

"I don't have much influence in the upper levels of Moroi royalty, but I have plenty among the guardians who handle the dirty work in our world."

"You didn't answer my question."

"There are many things that I'd do to protect you, Roza."

My heart beat faster. "I wouldn't exactly call it protecting me. I know you'd do many things to protect me, but revenge isn't your thing. It's more of mine."

I looked for any hint of a smile, but I gave up when I noticed there was no use. When we got inside of the buildings we stopped and he faced me. Luckily there was no one around as we stood in the still, quiet halls.

"Don't talk like that. It doesn't really matter because Victor won't say anything."

"And if he does?"

We stared into each other's eyes. He put his hand behind my neck and brought me a bit closer to him. Our foreheads touched and I felt I could barely breathe. "Then I'll think of something. I promise." He pulled away and kissed me on my forehead before leaving to his room.

"Hey, Dimitri?" He turned around. "What would you do if someone was mad at you?"

"Who's mad at you?" He asked, concern filling his eyes.

"No one, I just...want to know what you'd do."

"I'd try talking to them to make them feel better and to forgive me. If it doesn't work then just give them time."

I smiled. "Thanks." He nodded and continued to walk to his room.

I walked to mine and just as I was about to open my door, Lissa came around the corner.

"There you are. I've been looking for you. You missed dinner."

I was so caught up in the Victor problem that I forgot about dinner. "Sorry…I got carried away with some guardian stuff. Really long story."

I observed her. She'd changed for dinner. Her hair was pulled up and she wore a form-fitting dress made out of silver raw silk. As always, she looked beautiful. She looked royal. I thought back to what Victor said and it was a possibility that she really could be the power for change. Looking like she did now I could imagine people following her like a lost puppy looking for a home. I would do exactly that, but then, I was biased.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked with a smile playing her lips. I couldn't tell her that I'd just made conversation with the man she hated and was frightened by. At least, not while she seemed so happy and living her life.

I smiled at her. "I like the dress."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Tada! Long chapter, but i wanted to fit the whole chpter in there. This is chptr...13 in the book so...yeah. i did copy some dialogue straight from the book, but only bcuz i didn't know how to change it.

**shoshona79**: Here you go. a Dimitri/Rose chapter. i even had him kiss her on her forehead. lol.

**Adrian**: sorry about the Dimitri/Rose part and the Adrian/Rose part last chptr. lol. Gotta make it close to the book.

I need ideas, readers. plze. so...REVIEW!


	9. The Trial

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry it took so long. I've been having difficulties, but anyway. Tada, here's chapter 9. i hope you guys like it. It's pretty long and has less detail than past chapters. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own VA i only own Maralaina/Laina

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I woke up to the sound of knocking on my door. I suspected it to be Lissa, but a quick let in on her emotions told me she was still asleep. I slipped out of bed and walked over to the door. I opened it to come face to face with a Moroi girl. She handed me some folded clothes with a note on top. Before I could say anything, she left. I shrugged it off and closed my door. I sat on my bed and unfolded the clothing. I smiled at the familiar clothing. Black slacks, white blouse and black jacket. It was the same outfit all guardians wear. I opened the note and read it: _wear your hair up._ It was in Dimitri's writing. The smile stayed on my face. Female guardians cut their hair to show off their _molnija _marks. I had once considered cutting my hair, but Dimitri convinced me not to. When he said that, I didn't re-consider it. Dimitri loved my hair and didn't want me to cut it short.

About an hour later I was walking to the trial with Lissa, Christian, Laina and Eddie. Laina kept her distance from me, giving me an obvious sign that she was still mad at me. If I were in her place I wouldn't have been mad. It was true though, Adrian does have an obsession with me. The thing is, Adrian is just a flirt around Laina, but her feelings for him were a bit stronger than his for her. _What's up with Laina? She's so silent. _I looked to my left at Lissa. She was staring at me with a questioning look. I only shook my head and turned back.

The courtroom was in a large building that we passed when we arrived. As I walked through the halls, I noticed a mix of the old and new. This was something Laina had talked to, or yelled at, the queen for. She was saying how they cling to old traditions and don't look at the big picture of how moving on could really change our world. Despite what was going on between Laina and I, I easily agreed with her and would've stood by her side and yelled at the queen as well.

The courtroom itself was just as beautiful as anything around it. In front of the room were the seals of the twelve royal families. Lissa stopped and her eyes fell on the Dragomir dragon. _King of the beasts_, I recall Victor saying. A sea of emotions hit me as she stared at the seal. So much weight was being put onto her shoulders. Giving her a gentle nudge, I urged her on toward our seats. As we sat down in the front on the right-hand side of the room, I focused on the judge. She wasn't paying attention to me, which was surprising since everyone paid attention to me. The queen was to sit in the seat that was on one side of the room. She would be the one to make the ultimate decision, whether Victor stays imprisoned or is set free.

I leaned in close to Lissa. "Let's hope Tatiana's against him. She's the only one making the decision."

"Don't you think it feels weird that there's no jury?"

"Not really. I think it's just because we _did_ spend two years living among humans and they have a jury."

She smiled. "I guess."

Just moments later, Prince Victor Dashkov arrived and the room seemed to have grown cold. Or, just Victor Dashkov, at least. Not only did I hate calling him by his official title, but he was stripped of it when he'd been imprisoned. The next oldest person in the Dashkov family now had the title. Fear shot through Lissa which shot through the bond. Something that was mixed in with that fear was unexpected to me: regret. Before he kidnapped her, Victor was the closest thing to family that she had. She'd loved him, but he disrespected that love and betrayed her. Betrayed all of us.

I put my hand on top of hers. "Easy there," I murmured to her. "It's all gonna be fine."

Victor looked around the room, eyes narrowed and full of interest. I glared at him when he finally focused on Lissa. He gave a small nod to Lissa, and I snapped. I couldn't do anything because of the words in my mind. They belonged to Lissa. _Just breathe, Rose. No need for more trouble. _Victor finally walked away and took his seat.

I looked at Lissa, "Thanks. Are you reading my mind now?" I asked, with a smile.

She returned my smile. "No, I just felt your hand."

I looked down to see that my hand was still on hers. I did that to comfort her, but when my anger got to me I ended up clenching her fingers. "Whoa," I said as I pulled my hand away. "Sorry, Liss."

Queen Tatiana finally came into the room. Thankfully, it distracted me from my anger at Victor and it slightly calmed me down. When she appeared we all stood up and then we knelt. It was another old tradition that we clung to. I would've been fine with just the standing, but the kneeling? I honestly don't see a huge point in it. Once she took her seat, we all rose and were able to take a sit.

The trial began. Slowly, but surely, each person who had witnessed what happened with Victor gave their little speech about what they had seen, which was nothing compared to what I had witnessed, but it was enough. This mainly involved the guardians in which accompanied Lissa when Victor kidnapped her and those who had helped get her back.

Dimitri was the last guardian to go up. Thankfully, his expression was as neutral as all guardians when he told his side of the story. I was interested when he began, "I was with my student, Rose Hathaway. She and Princess Vasilisa share a bond and was the first to sense something was wrong."

Victor's lawyer looked through some papers and looked back up at Dimitri. "Based on what happened, it seems there was some kind of setback between the time she discovered what happened and when you gave notice to other guardians."

Dimitri nodded, still keeping his neutral look. "Rose couldn't act on it because Mr. Dashkov had distributed a charm on her. It caused her to attack me."

The way Dimitri spoke amazed me. He didn't give the slightest hint of hesitance or anything. No one noticed a single thing. The only person who knew was me. I was most likely the only one who could see how much it hurt Dimitri to lie to other guardians. Then again, it was a possibility that it was because I know him so well. But his cause for lying was very important. He wanted to protect me from getting in trouble, even though keeping me out of trouble is harder than it sounds. I knew that it killed something in Dimitri to lie in front of everyone, including the queen herself. I sometimes see Dimitri as a perfect person, but he wasn't.

He continued, "Mr. Dashkov is an earth user, and some who use that type of power and are also strong in compulsion can put charms on others. In this case, the charm caused her anger and assault through an object that was given to her."

I heard a sound off to my left. It sounded like someone trying to hold in laughter, but failed miserably. The judge glared. "Mr. Dashkov, please be respectable, at least, in the presence of the queen."

Victor, a smile still on his face, waved apologetically. "Due to all respect, I'm sorry, Your Honor and Your Majesty. Something Guardian Belikov just…made my day. It won't happen again."

I held my breath, ready for the bomb to drop. I was surprised to see that it didn't. Once Dimitri finished his statement, it was Christian's turn. His statement was small. He didn't have too big of a part in the incident. He was with Lissa when she'd been kidnapped and was knocked out. The part he took, though, caused him to become bloody. He sat down and it was my turn.

My side of the story was direct and straightforward. I had many details from the night before the kidnapping took place. Other than that, my story was in sync with Dimitri's and the other guardians'. Of course, if my friends knew what really happened they'd know I was lying, but because I was an expert at lying, my story was pretty legit. Hopefully Victor wouldn't say anything that would bring up the others suspicion. I took a quick glance at Victor. His smug look made me want to attack him and repeatedly punch him in his face.

It felt like forever, just standing up there with so many eyes on me. I got all the attention I used to want, but I didn't want it like this. When I was finished I felt relief wash over me. Victor hadn't called me about, but I still didn't completely let my guard down. Lissa went up after I did. Since Lissa was the main victim, her story was much more detailed. Everyone grew quiet, completely interested in her story. When Lissa went into full detail about her being tortured, everyone looked sick. Their faces going paler than they already are. The most amazing thing, aside from the story, was how calm Lissa was. But it wasn't exactly how she looked, but felt. She was reliving that night. One of the guys was an air user and he toyed with it on Lissa by cutting off her air and smothering her with it. It was horrible. I was in her head at the time it happened so I felt it and was reliving it the same time she was.

Before I knew it, it was Victor's turn. By his expression, you probably couldn't even tell that he was on trial. No outrage, no anything. He didn't plead for forgiveness or just to let him go. The way he was so calm…I got angry. Being this angry was hard to control, but I seemed to be managing.

When the prosecuting lawyer asked why he did what he did, Victor stared at her as if she was out of her mind. "I had to do it," he said is a matter of fact manner. "I had no choice. I was dying. No one wants to die except at old age. No one was exactly going to hand over the princess to me and let me experiment on her powers. What would you do if you were on the brink of death?"

The lawyer looked disgusted at the question. "And tempting your daughter to turn Strigoi was necessary in this event?"

The entire courtroom seemed to have shifted uncomfortably. Strigoi were never born, always made. Either by choice or by force. It could either be a human, dhampir or Moroi. Whether the victim wanted to become Strigoi or not, once they did they lose their old self and become a killing machine. Christian's parents turned willingly because they wanted immortality. Victor convinced his daughter Natalie into turning Strigoi to break him out of jail. Before anything really happened, Natalie was killed by Dimitri.

Victor's answer was too simple. "Natalie made that choice herself."

"Can you say that about everyone that was involved? Guardian Belikov and Miss Hathaway didn't have a say in what you _made_ them do."

Victor chuckled. "It honestly depends on their opinion. I personally don't think they minded. If there is any time after this case, Your Honor, you might want to stick around and consider going against a statutory rape case."

I completely froze. I couldn't tell if I was breathing or not. All I knew: Victor had done it. He'd said what he had blackmailed us with. Thankfully, no one even looked at us, but I was still too shocked to move. Most people gave Victor outraged looks. That was what he expected. He only wanted to tease us. He knew he wouldn't be taken seriously. Through the bond, I felt Lissa's emotions. She was wondering how Victor could stoop so low like that.

The judge was also horrified. Everything was pretty much done. The lawyers wrapped up, only waiting for the queen to make her final decision. I held my breath again, wondering what she would do. Victor hadn't denied any of the things he did and thanks to my friends' testimonies we had an advantage. I had nearly thought that the queen was going to let him off, but in the end she found him guilty and he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Not that he had much life left. He was going to be taken to a different prison. From what I've heard of Moroi prisons, they're terrible. Victor remained calm and amused. I didn't like that. So many reasons to hate him for.

A gesture from the queen ended the trials. The rest of us stood up and talked while Tatiana surveyed the room. Victor was being escorted out, but he stopped and spoke. "Vasilisa, such a pleasure. Have you been well?"

Lissa stayed silent. She still feared and hated him, but now she felt that she could go on knowing that he can't hurt her anymore. Being the tough, caring girl Laina is, she stepped in. She stood in front of Lissa. "Why don't you go jump off a cliff and end your life quicker?"

Victor seemed slightly taken aback. Most likely because he was being told off by someone he didn't know. "You seem to hate me. I haven't done anything to you. Mostly because I don't know you." He chuckled.

Laina narrowed her eyes. "You tortured my friend and nearly killed my brother. I'm supposed to hate you."

"Your brother?" Victor's gaze moved around our little group and it fell on Christian. Amusement filled his eyes. He looked back and forth between Laina and Christian. "Well, I hadn't a clue that Lucas and Moira had a girl, preferably their children being twins. Who would've guessed? Unlike your brother you look like the one who will follow in your parents' footsteps." Laina lunged for Victor, but Christian and Eddie grabbed her.

Victor smirked and looked at Lissa again. "I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to talk."

"Let's go." Said one of the guardians with Victor. The guardians took him away.

Laina jerked away from Christian and Eddie. Her breathing was heavy and she looked dizzy. "Are you ok?" Eddie asked her. She nodded.

Lissa turned and looked at me. "I'm sorry about that stuff that he said about you and Dimitri." Dimitri was standing right behind her. I looked up at him and our gazes met. We were both relieved. We'd won the battle against Victor, but he'd most likely come back and we'd have to join in on the war.

Christian hugged Lissa for a long time. I was happy for them. I jumped up when a hand touched me. I turned around and came face to face with Adrian. "Oh, hey."

"How are you feeling, little dhampir? Dashkov said some…uh…unusual things. Don't you think?"

I stepped closer to him, keeping my voice as low as possible but making sure Adrian could still hear me, "I think it's ok. No one believed him. Thanks for asking."

He smiled. "You've thanked me two times in as many days. That should be in a world record book. I don't suppose I owe you anything, is there?"

I rolled my eyes. "Dream on, lover boy. Use your imagination, it doesn't seem like a difficult thing for you." He gave me a half-hug and pulled away. I turned to see Laina staring at us. She gave me a small smile, but I knew she felt hurt. But it seemed that she was forgiving me.

We began to leave, but Priscilla Voda had caught up with us and stopped Lissa. "The queen would like a word with you in private. Just before you leave." I looked over to where the queen was sitting. Her gaze was fixed on us.

"Um, of course I will." Through the bond she said: _Will you listen again? _I nodded. Priscilla rushed her off.

We all walked off and separated, but Laina caught up with me. "Hey." She said.

"Are you forgiving me?"

"Uh, yeah. About that…I was out of line. I shouldn't have acted like that. I know Adrian likes you and all, but…I let jealousy take over."

"Don't worry about it. It happens all the time."

"Well, I have to go. Um…Adrian wants to hang out." She smiled.

I smiled at her. "Good luck." She smiled and walked off. When I got to my room, I tuned in on Lissa. The queen had just finished whatever she was doing and Lissa and Priscilla bowed down.

Tatiana got comfortable before speaking, "Vasilisa, I know your plane will be taking off soon, so I'll make this brief. I want to make an offer to you."

"What kind of offer, Your Majesty?"

"You'll be going off to college soon. I understand you're dissatisfied with your choices."

"I'm not exactly dissatisfied with them. The only thing is that all the colleges Moroi are supposed to go are…small. I completely respect the safety rules, but I'm not sure. I want to go someplace bigger." Guardians watched over a handful of colleges so Moroi can attend them safely. But just as Lissa noted, they're pretty small.

Tatiana nodded. "I've decided to give you an opportunity that no one has ever been given. At least, not from what I know. After you graduate, I would like you to come live here at the Royal Court. You don't have a family and being in the heart of government you're knowledge of politics will increase. Along with this offer, we would make arrangements for you to attend Lehigh University. You have heard of it, haven't you?"

Lissa nodded. Of course, I've never heard of it, but Lissa's a nerd. She must've looked up every single college in the U.S. "I've researched it and it's a good school, Your Majesty. But again with the space issue."

"It's bigger than most colleges Moroi attend." Tatiana pointed out.

"That is true." Lissa was wondering exactly what was going on. Why was Tatiana giving her this offer? There was something unusual going on and she wanted to find out what that was. "The University of Pennsylvania isn't that far either, Your Majesty. That's a good school."

"That school is _huge_, Vasilisa. It's unacceptable. Your safety will be at risk."

Lissa only shrugged. "Then I suppose it doesn't matter if I go to Lehigh or another one." The queen looked taken aback as did Priscilla. Tatiana was probably shocked that someone was talking to her like this, preferably the Dragomir princess. Lehigh was a level up from what she wanted, and she really wanted to go. She was just testing the queen's offer.

Tatiana frowned. "If you wish to go to a different college, maybe depending on your grades and experiences at Lehigh we can transfer you in a couple of years."

The queen really did want Lissa around. The only question was why. "I'm very flattered by this offer, Your Majesty. But why?"

"You're the last Dragomir, a precious asset. Being such a person I need to make sure your future is bright. And besides…" Tatiana hesitated before continuing. "You and Maralaina were right about one thing: Moroi do have trouble changing what they cling to so well. I haven't called her down, but you two are friends. Do you think she will be interested in the same offer?"

So that's what this is about. Having another strong voice in politics. Lissa didn't answer right away. She was still analyzing the offer and also wondering what Laina would think. She wished I was there to help, but I wouldn't have much of an opinion. If I could say anything I'd actually tell her to take up on the offer. It was a great offer and Laina should take up on it too. "Ok then. I accept. I'll be sure to let Maralaina know about your offer and I hope I'll get a chance to tell you her answer before we leave. Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Wonderful," Tatiana said. "We'll see that arrangements are made and tell Maralaina as soon as possible. You may go." Lissa bowed down and walked to leave. Tatiana suddenly called out to her. "Vasilisa? Will you send your friend here?"

Lissa turned around. "Rose? Uh, yes. Of course I will."

I returned to my room and quickly left. I met up with Lissa. "What's going on?" I asked her.

Lissa shrugged. "I don't know. Did you hear what she said?"

"Yeah, and it's a great offer. I'm glad you took it. Make sure Laina takes up on the offer."

"Speaking of Laina, do you know where she is? Oh, you guys aren't on speaking terms, are you?" I looked at her confused. "Christian told me."

"Oh, well…she forgave me. She said Adrian wanted to hang out with her. I don't know where they are."

"Oh, well I'll look around. Good luck. I'll see you soon." I walked off and went into the room that Lissa was in with the queen. Tatiana was standing up with an unhappy look.

I bowed just like Lissa had. I looked around to see that Priscilla was gone. I expected Tatiana to tell me to sit down, but instead she walked over to me. "Miss Hathaway, I am going to make this very quick. You are going to stop this affair you're having with my great-nephew. And you're going to end it immediately."

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**Author's Note: **Yeah, very close to the chapter in the book but still good. I hope you guys liked it. Plze review! If you guys saw any typos, plze tell me.


	10. Accused of Affairs & Marriages Arranged

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry. I know it's been forever, but i've been kind of stuck on this chapter. hopeuflly i'll post nxt chapter quick, but for now lets move onto this chapter. enjoy!

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"Wait. Wh-what?"

"I believe you heard me. I haven't a clue how far things have gone between you two, and I don't want details. But that's not the point, is it? The point is that I want you to stop."

I was too shocked to say anything. For a second, the queen could've been my mother starting her discipline lectures. Tatiana wanted me to say that I'd be respectable and do whatever she wanted. But the truth: I can't exactly do that. I took a look around the room, hoping there was even the slightest hint of this being a practical joke to get back at me for everything I've done to 'embarrass' others.  
I turned back to the queen. "Uh…I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Your Majesty. There's nothing going on between me and Adrian. We're simply friends."

"Do you think I'm an idiot?"

Ok, then. Someone has an attitude. If she wasn't the queen I would've said, "Ok, you really need to calm down before you talk to me like that." But of course, I couldn't say that. I was just shocked that she would say something like that.

"Not at all, Your Majesty."

"Well, that's something. You won't gain anything by lying. People see you together all the time, here and back at the Academy. And in the courtroom, I saw you myself." Perfect. Just perfect. Adrian just _had_ to choose that moment to sneak another hug, didn't he? "I've heard many illicit details about you two and it _will_ stop. Right here, right now. Adrian Ivashkov is of a very important family. He isn't going to run off with a cheap dhampir girl like yourself. So I suggest you rid yourself of those thoughts."

Cheap dhampir girl? Someone really needs to slap some sense into this woman before I volunteered to do it. "I never had the thought of him running away with me-seeing as we're not involved with one another. Adrian likes me. He's a flirt. If you wanna talk to me about hearing illicit details, I'm not the person you should be talking to. I'm sure Adrian keeps a list of illicit things he'd like to do with a 'cheap dhampir girl like me'. Tons of things. But I assure you, none of them are happening, Your Majesty."

God, I'm such an idiot. I never should've said anything except that there's nothing going on between us and I didn't expect to run off in the sunset in Adrian's arms.

"I know a lot about you, Rosemarie," She said. "A lot of that talk has to do with what you did in Spokane, but your little heroic gesture won't make up for you taking Vasilisa away. Before any of that happened you used to get into so much trouble. I am queen. I know everything. Including your little obsession with men and drinking. Tragic, really, if you think about it."

My eyes widened. Obsession with men and drinking? She has got to be kidding me. I don't have an obsession with anything. Actually, if it was anything I was obsessed with it might as well be Dimitri. And besides, I probably drank no more than the average teenager at high school parties. Of course, even telling Tatiana this she wouldn't listen.

"But," she continued, even though I know I shouldn't get my hopes up. "everything you have done recently…makes it nearly impossible to send you away. Many people believe you have a great future ahead of you. It's a possibility that you do. Seeing as I can't prevent you from becoming a guardian, I _can_ affect your Moroi."

You have seriously got to be kidding me. "Are you…are you actually threatening me?" As cold and heartless as Tatiana is, she cannot be serious. Me not guarding Lissa for the filed experience was one thing, and I got over it. But affecting our future as me not guarding her out in the real world? Unacceptable.

"All I'm saying is that I have a great interest in Vasilisa's future, is all. And if I have to protect her from people like you, then I shall do so. We can easily find her another guardian. And we can find you another Moroi who will be willing to put up with you."

People like me? She is truly out of her mind! "You can't do that to us! If you want to believe that something is going on between me and Adrian, believe it. But it's not true. You can't do something to me like this for something I've never thought of doing….Your Majesty." In a way, I can see a hint of happiness in her expression. She knew she hit a soft spot and she wasn't giving up.

"To be honest, I don't want to punish you. I'm just making sure that we can see eye to eye. You should know by now: Moroi men don't marry dhampir girls. They only play with them like a child's toy." It was similar to what Laina once said, but of course she was talking about boys who thought they could get anything or be whoever. Like Jesse. Tatiana continued, "Every girl sees something different in their eyes. Something like love. Your mother saw that with Ibrahim, but even she was wrong."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Who?" I asked. Ibrahim? I've never heard of it. I wanted to ask who that was and what the connection was between him and my mother, but Tatiana continued.

"No matter what, they are always wrong. You can try all you want, but you'll be wasting your time." She shook her head. I knew she felt sorry for dhampir girls who ended up becoming these…types of people. It ruins their lives. "You can use your features as much as you want, but I warn you, you'll be the one getting used in the end. Right now he may say he loves you, but it all turns out the same in the end: he'll get tired of you. I am trying to do you a favor, Rosemarie."

"But he isn't saying that he loves-" I already knew there was no point. But the ironic thing…I was certain Adrian was only going to use me for his own needs. I had no doubt about that. We weren't doing anything, not even going out, but Tatiana wanted to see the opposite just to make me suffer. I sighed. "Look, you know w can't have a future together, so why are you even telling me this? Just like you said: he's only going to throw me away. Your Majesty."

She hesitated and I thought I was going to laugh. Despite everything she's done to throw me off, some part of her was worried that I could possibly be charming and beautiful enough to captivate Adrian into marrying me. "I like to take care of things before they become a huge problem for me. And besides, it will make things easier for him and Vasilisa if you aren't around."

Ok, now _that_ caught me off guard. Tatiana was just full of surprises today. "Him and…Vasilisa? Are you insane!" At least, that's what I wanted to say. Instead I edited my sentences. "Him and…Vasilisa? Lissa? What are you talking about?"

"The two of them are excellent together. Despite your bad influence in her presence, Vasilisa has grown into a very mature, and promising young woman. Her seriousness and dedicated nature should be able to balance Adrian's recklessness. And them being together…maybe it will allow them to continue research on their magic."

Just a few minutes ago, I thought me marrying Adrian was the most insane thing I've heard in my seventeen years of life. But if I had to choose, marrying Adrian didn't seem so bad compared to he and Lissa marrying one another. "Lissa and Adrian…together. You've got to be kidding, right?"

"If they're here together, I'm sure they'll come around."

"What about Maralaina?" Here I go again, being an idiot.

"What _about_ Maralaina?"

Can't swerve around it now. I've said it already. "She and Adrian have something…probably more than he and Vasilisa have."

Tatiana scrunched her nose, probably at the thought of Adrian with an Ozera, especially when she's the daughter of the Ozeras' who turned Strigoi. What I couldn't do, she just did. Moved around the topic. "Vasilisa and Adrian have a certain charisma around each other. Not to mention that Adrian's grandmothers both came from branches of the Dragomir line. He has more than enough blood to help her carry on the Dragomir line."

"So does Christian Ozera." As much as I tried, I couldn't seem to get away from the Ozera twins. In a disturbing moment, the two had looked up Christian's family line to see if he had enough Dragomir blood to help carry on the name. As soon as they did, they immediately started to name their future children. It was horrible, but I had to admit I felt a bit respected when they said they'd name their third daughter after me. But of course, I left because I couldn't take it.

"Christian Ozera?" She laughed, but it wasn't humorously. It was a kind of laugh saying what I've been saying ever since I got here: you've got to be kidding me. "There is no way that Vasilisa Dragomir is going to marry him."

"Well, of course not any time soon. I mean, they're not even twenty but-"

"Not now, not ever. Just as there won't be anything between Adrian and Maralaina. The Dragomirs are an ancient and honored line of royalty. The last descendent of the Dragomirs isn't going to attach herself to someone like him."

"He's royal, just like any other royal. The Ozera line is just as important as the Dragomir line and the Ivashkov line. Just like Lissa's royal, like Adrian and even like you…he's royal all the same." This must be how Laina felt after she talked to the queen. So proud of herself for standing up for those around her.

She snorted in disgust. "He is nothing like us. Yes, the Ozeras are one of the royal houses and he has several very respectable distant cousins…but they have nothing to do with this situation. We're talking about Vasilisa and Adrian getting together and each not with a child of someone who purposely became a Strigoi. Did you know that this has happened to me nine times? Nine…in fifty years. And Christian's and Maralaina's parents were two of them."

"Exactly. Their _parents_. Not them. They have nothing to do with it."

"It doesn't matter," she said immediately. "The Dragomir Princess cannot be associated with someone like him. And someone who is related to someone in power should not be associated with someone like Maralaina." I didn't completely disagree with her. Laina and Adrian were reckless enough, but together…still. They were better than Lissa and Adrian.

"But your nephew is the perfect choice for her? Your Majesty."

Tatiana narrowed her eyes at me. "If you're such a smart girl, Rosemarie, tell me-how are they treated, back at St. Vladimir's? How does everyone view Christian and Vasilisa together?"

"Fine. They have many friends." I said.

"And Christian is fully accepted?"

My thoughts immediately went to Jesse and Ralf. Now that I think a little more about it, it was a yes and no answer. There are a handful of people that don't mine, but that doesn't mean they don't avoid Christian. They still believe he'll eventually turn Strigoi. I try hiding my thoughts, but my hesitation was a dead giveaway.

"You see? And that's just a small amount of society. Just think of it on a bigger scale. Vasilisa will be in politics and trying to get everyone's support. Do you really want everyone to look down upon her because of Christian?"

It was the same thing Christian feared. I shook my head. "That won't happen. You're wrong. They wouldn't do that to them."

"And you're very young, Miss Hathaway. You will soon understand the sacrifice. You are also delaying your flight. I have nothing else to say…and I do hope this will be the last time we have such a discussion."

Tatiana left with her guardians and soon I was able to go. I walked towards the door. My head was spinning as I thought: How truly insane is Tatiana Ivashkov? She wanted to believe that Adrian and I had a thing and is trying to get him and Lissa to marry one another. It was outrageous. I doubted Adrian knew about this, so I shouldn't tell him. Lissa would go crazy. And Christian wouldn't be much better. Laina…what would she think? Just as I walked out she moved out in front of me.

I jumped back and closed my eyes. "What do you think you're doing?" I asked, opening my eyes. The look in her eyes told me everything. I sighed. I didn't want to believe it so I asked anyway. "Please, tell me you didn't hear that."

"Actually, I heard all of it. From the beginning. I can't believe…Why would she do this to Lissa and Chris? She understands what they have yet she wants Lissa and Adrian to marry each other." She shook her head in disbelief.

"Look, Laina, I-"

"And what you said about me and Adrian…" _Oh God, here it comes. _"I actually appreciate it."

There I was. Caught off guard again. "I…what? You…appreciate it?"

"You understand, Rose, and you're only trying to help," she smiled that little grin of hers that I already knew too well: she wanted trouble. "and I swear that if Tatiana wants to say something like that again? I'll be right by your side telling her _my_ feelings about this." I smiled.

"There you are." Laina and I turned and faced Lissa. She was walking towards us. She pointed to Laina. "I've been looking for you all over the place. I didn't expect you to find Rose so quickly."

Laina smiled and tried playing it off. "I was actually looking for you to tell you I couldn't find Rose. And then I ran into her and we kind of talked."

Lissa turned to me. "Oh. What did the queen want?"

Laina and I quickly made eye contact and I looked back at Lissa. "Nothing really. She kind of…congratulated me for my Strigoi killings and to tell me I'll most likely have a bright future. Coming from her…I was pretty shocked."

"You shouldn't have been. I mean, what you did was amazing. She was probably surprised and really wanted to recognize you for what you did."

"I suppose. So, are we headed for the plane?"

Laina turned to me. "It was delayed by a few hours. That's why Lissa and I came to get you. We decided to check out the Royal Court. I mean, come on. There has to be tons of stuff around here. Fun stuff that the three of us can do."

I looked at Lissa. She was blocking her thoughts from me and I gave her a stern look. She only laughed and began to walk away. Laina and I followed. Now that I think about it, I do need a break. The whole Victor situation and queen speech didn't help take some stress off of me that I already had. But the thought of hanging out with Lissa and Laina, just the three of us, suddenly didn't sound so bad.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I hope the wait was worht it. Ok, so evn though Laina appreciated it, do u think it was right for Rose to bring Laina into the whole...marriage conspiracy (we can call it)? let me know what u guys thought.


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